Twenty-eight years ago, having given birth to a small 'special care' baby who needed oxygen at birth, I was advised by my health visitor not to let my daughter have the triple vaccine because of the suspicion surrounding the whooping cough element.

This was not a problem because my doctor gave her the combined diphtheria and tetanus injection without the whooping cough. My daughter did not have the measles vaccination because that, too, was not without suspicion.

Aged five years, my daughter caught both measles and whooping cough. She recovered from measles within the week and whooping cough spasms were over in three to four weeks. I still do not regret my decision - after all, I, my peers, parents and grandparents all had measles and whooping cough and recovered without complications.

While the MMR is probably safe for most children, I wonder how safe it is for those babies who were, like my daughter, in need of special care. Unfortunately, one does not know if there is a problem until it is too late and it is one that can never be reversed.

There has been a rise in autism which may be coincidental but, conversely, that would mean we should not believe those many parents whose children were either made ill by MMR or who developed autism. Why should parents have to take a risk they are really concerned about and why should they not be given a choice, as I was?

My daughter had the rubella jab aged 10 or 11 years and, despite there not being a vaccination for mumps in those days, she never caught this anyway. Why can't the practice regarding rubella vaccinations be continued? I have no doubt the triple MMR is a cost-cutting exercise. So come on, Mr Blair, you were elected by some of these parents so you should be listening to them and giving them the choice they wanted.

Finally, as my small grandchildren have not had the MMR, I would be grateful to know if there is a local doctor willing to use the single vaccine. I am prepared to pay privately for my grandchildren to have this.

-D C Sims, West Way, Hove