Opinion: On Pregnancy, Vaccines, and Who to Trust

When you’re pregnant, everyone suddenly becomes an expert. Your friend who swears her morning sickness cure is pickle juice, your mom who “never needed prenatal vitamins,” and of course, a thousand creators on TikTok warning you about everything from epidurals to vaccines. It’s a lot. And honestly, I get it feeling stressed, scared and therefore believing anything. When your body and experience, as mine did, feels completely out of control, you want to take back control wherever you can.

But there’s a difference between being empowered and being misinformed.

Pregnancy and childbirth used to be incredibly dangerous. Just over a century ago, about 1 in 100 women died giving birth in the U.S. and 1 in 10 babies didn’t survive their first year. Today, those numbers are a fraction of what they once were. Not because our bodies evolved, but because of medical advances: prenatal vitamins, safer deliveries, antibiotics, sterile environments, and yes, vaccines…

So let’s start with during pregnancy.

I personally leaned on both modern medicine and supportive, holistic practices. I listened to my doctors. I took my prenatal vitamins. I focused on eating real, whole foods and didn’t rely on supplements to fill every gap. I added a few extra supplements like magnesium, desiccated beef liver, and vitamin D3 +K2 along with a few gentle eastern practices that complemented my care. Things like nourishing herbal soups and acupuncture that helped me feel balanced through all the physical and emotional changes. I should note that I also took anti-nausea medicine every morning for about 4+ weeks during my first trimester in order to get through it.

The key word there is complemented. I didn’t skip my checkups or turn to the internet instead of a doctor when something felt off. I brought my questions to my OBGYN first every time. I didn’t turn someone online who made a confident-sounding video with zero credentials.

Modern medicine isn’t perfect, but it’s the reason so many of us even get to have healthy pregnancies and babies. Adding holistic practices is wonderful, but they should live alongside your medical care, not in place of it.

I also get asked a lot did I take Tylanol when I was pregnant - I don’t remember if I did because I didn’t experience pain or headaches luckily throughout my pregnancy. The one thing I did avoid for my own personal comfort was artificial sweeteners since I was focusing on more natural / whole foods including brown sugars, honey etc!

Vaccines are one of the main reasons humans now live twice as long as they did a hundred years ago.

During my pregnancy I got my Covid vaccine, Flu shot and RSV vaccine (there might have been one more but now I forget.)

For my baby, we also vaccinated him with everything recommended (although we delayed his Hep vaccine til around 12 weeks.) Why? Diseases that once devastated families like polio, diphtheria, measles are almost unheard of now (although many once (nearly) gone diseases are on the rise again). Choosing not to vaccinate your baby doesn’t just put them at risk; it puts other vulnerable babies and people at risk too and for what?

I know the online “natural motherhood” space can feel appealing. The clean aesthetics, the calm tone, the promise of control and I’ve felt that pull, too. But medicine isn’t the enemy of nature. It’s part of how we protect it.

If the number of vaccines or medications during pregnancy feels overwhelming, that’s okay. Talk to your doctor about it. Ask questions. If you’re still uncomfortable, get a second opinion from another qualified doctor, not from TikTok. If every well trained and qualified medical professional you speak to says the same thing, there’s probably a good reason.

You can be both intuitive and informed. You can listen to your instincts and your doctor. Modern pregnancy care isn’t about blindly following rules, it’s about using the best science available to keep both you and your baby safe.

Because trusting science doesn’t mean giving up control. It means giving yourself and your baby the best chance to thrive in life!