FOR the overwhelming majority of people, medical professionals included, there's just no question.

But that didn't stop one Gold Coast based mummy blogger from hosting an Instagram Live chat to discuss whether or not parents should vaccinate their children.

Leila Stead, who blogs as The Single Mum Diaries, held the chat titled "To Vax Or Not" on Tuesday morning and insisted that "we can not take away a woman's right to choose" whether or not to vaccinate their children.

In a video post on Instagram, Leila said that the live chat, which is no longer available, covered the vaccine debate from both sides. It was intended to give "light to a really important topic in our lives as mothers".

"The reason I wanted to bring this topic to light is for myself. I wanted to gather some more information and I wanted to get more educated on the topic from both sides of the fence," Leila explained.

For her part, Leila has opened up the debate on her Instagram with good intentions. She feels that people need more education about vaccines, despite the overwhelming evidence already available.

Her personal experience is that she did not feel like her own concerns about vaccines were adequately addressed when she took her daughter to be immunised, and that she feels overwhelmed by the anti-vaccination messages "flying around via the media".

Controversially, Leila told Kidspot, "I do not feel as though the case for vaccination has been made strongly enough at all. As a new mother I felt really out in the dark about it and I don't feel having a doctor hand me a pamphlet on what to do with my newborn daughter was enough education."

While there is complete agreement amongst scientists and medical professionals that vaccination is of great benefit to individuals and to the community as a whole, Leila says that she can see both sides of the debate.

"I believe we should be allowed to choose what we want injected into our children. Many of the mothers that have chosen not to vaccinate that wrote in to me stated that they are not anti-vax but that they are infact pro-choice. Many of them stated that they just want safer vaccines for their children," Leila explained to Kidspot.

But bringing the issue up and giving equal weight to both sides of the argument is irresponsible at best and outright reprehensible at worst.

Dr Brad McKay, a Melbourne based GP and medical commentator, told Kidspot the arguments against vaccination have been well and truly disproven, and that anti-vaxxers rely on rumour and misinformation.

"The chance of having anything going wrong with a vaccine is very very low. Any medication, any vaccine that we give can potentially have concerns. But the concerns are very, very miniscule in comparison to the complications that can happen from the infections that we're preventing kids from getting.

Dr McKay said that arguments against vaccination should not be given equal weight in the debate.

"It's fine for people to have opinions, but when they're not backed up by science that's just opinions. The vast majority of the world, parents, scientists, doctors, health professionals, the vast majority of everyone agrees that vaccinations work, that they're effective and that they're safe," he said.

Opinions, Dr McKay said, "should never be given even weight to the vast, overwhelming information and research that shows the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations."

As one commenter on Instagram said,  "Honestly. If you have to choose between a bad reaction and, say, polio, there really shouldn't be a debate."

Leila explained that she raised the issue because she feels if more people were educated about vaccination then the immunisation rates would be much better.

"I feel more than ever after all of this that we should ask questions and that more importantly that we should not feel ashamed for speaking out and saying 'I want to know more'," Leila told Kidspot.

Immunisation has been the subject of health promotion campaigns for decades. But there's no doubt that things have ramped up significantly in recent times.

The Federal Government's National Immunisation Strategy was launched in 2013 and, among other things, focuses on communicating the need for and benefits of immunisation.

Government's around the country are also launching more punitive measures on families who choose not to vaccinate without good medical reasons; the 'No Jab No Play' initiative, the removal of the religious exemption, the obligation on parents to vaccinate their children in accordance with the schedule in order to receive welfare benefits.

Leila said it all feels like it's being rammed down her throat. That combined with feeling fobbed off by medical professionals when asking reasonable questions about vaccines left her feeling "extremely anxious".

"When I have asked questions I have been fobbed off and treated as if I am trying to cause trouble," Leila said.

"I found so many women via my live chat that were also feeling overwhelmed, scared and pushed into a corner with their decision making."

If you have any questions or if you need medical advice, Kidspot recommends you speak to your GP.

This article originally appeared on Kidspot and has been republished here with permission.