I’m a pediatrician who’s counseled hundreds of families through vaccine decisions since I became a pediatrician 10 years ago. I trust vaccines because the benefits generally far outweigh the rare side effects.
But when it was my 2-month-old son in front of me? I hesitated. This wasn’t just a medical decision — this was my baby.
My son’s seizure condition caused me to worry about how he would react to his vaccines
My first baby, Ryaan, had a very traumatic entrance into the world. He got stuck in my uterus during my C-section, and the doctors had trouble getting him out. The reduced oxygen to his brain during that time caused him to have a stroke when he was just a day old.
He was attached to machines and wires and underwent a flood of medical interventions. He had to have an electroencephalogram (EEG) and MRI to understand what, if any, problems he would have down the line because of the stroke and lack of oxygen at birth.
His body had to endure more in one week than many adults face in a lifetime. By the time I had my son, I had cared for so many babies as a pediatrician. But nothing prepares you for when the patient is your own child.
Ryaan never had another seizure after that first one when he was a day old, and his tests all came back normal. But he would remain on two antiseizure medications, just in case.
Then came his two-month well visit. I knew this meant he was scheduled to receive six vaccines.
I was so scared for weeks leading up to his appointment. Would a post-vaccine fever cause him to seize again? When your child has a seizure disorder, you just never know if possible triggers like fever, illness or stress will cause them to happen again.
When Ryaan was about 6 weeks old, I called his neurologist, who is also a close friend of mine. She understood why I was hesitant. “The risk is low,” she said. “But we can’t predict how he will respond.”
She gave me space. No pressure. Just compassion.
My husband and I, along with my colleague, a general pediatrician, discussed the benefits and risks. If he were to have a seizure after getting vaccinated, my husband and I reasoned, it would likely be short-lived. The illnesses I was trying to prevent with the vaccines would be much more concerning.
Still, when it was time for the appointment, I was still undecided on what I would do. The night beforehand, I lay awake, drowning in what-ifs.
In the end, my husband and I chose to vaccinate Ryaan. And he was fine. No fever, no seizures, no complications. Just a healthy baby — growing, thriving.
But the fear? That stayed with me. And I know so many other parents feel it, too.
Know that hesitancy doesn’t make you weak
I’m a pediatrician, and I still felt hesitant about my son getting his vaccines. So if you’ve ever felt hesitant — if your stomach dropped before a vaccine visit — I see you. Because I’ve been you.
For me, it wasn’t misinformation that made me pause – it was my son’s medical history. And even with all my knowledge as a pediatrician, I still hesitated — because I was a mom first.
Here’s what I want you to know: There’s a difference between healthy caution and fear fed by misinformation. One makes you pause. The other paralyzes you.
And when we let fear lead? We may delay the protection our kids truly need. Yes, vaccines come with risks. So does every medical decision. But the risks of disease? They’re far greater.
Being hesitant doesn’t make you a bad parent. It makes you a thoughtful one. And I get it. With everything you hear online from friends or influencers, it’s hard to know what’s true. You want to do the right thing. You want to protect your baby.
Curiosity is good, but the answers to that curiosity matter. They need to come from informed, trusted places, not fear-driven ones. Yes, side effects can happen. But serious side effects are rare.
In fact, at 2 months, mild side effects are common, like fussiness and a low-grade fever for about 1 in 2 to 1 in 4 babies. But serious side effects, like severe allergic reactions, are extremely rare, about 1 in 1 million doses.
But the diseases we vaccinate against? They’re not rare — especially if we stop vaccinating, as we’re seeing now with pertussis and measles outbreaks. Your child deserves protection, not preventable suffering.
When it comes to vaccines, it’s not just about personal protection — it’s about protecting our community, too. Some babies, kids and adults can’t get vaccinated because of age or health conditions, and they rely on the rest of us to keep dangerous diseases from spreading.
When vaccination rates drop, we see real outbreaks of diseases like measles and whooping cough, illnesses that can cause brain damage, pneumonia, paralysis or even death.
This is especially important for respiratory viruses like measles, which spread quickly through the air and can cause life-threatening illness, particularly in babies too young to be fully vaccinated.
Vaccinating your child helps protect them and helps create a safer world for everyone around them.
If you’re lying awake worrying like I once did – heart pounding, doubting, afraid. Know this: Fear is loud. But facts are steady.
When you choose evidence over fear, you are choosing the safest path forward.
For them. For you. For all of us.
If you’re unsure of where to turn for facts, try these resources
The right information can empower you to make confident decisions that truly protect your child and your community. In a world where misinformation spreads quickly, turning to trusted, evidence-based sources for vaccine information is crucial. Here are some of the places I go to help me make informed decisions about my own kids:
We are all doing our best to provide for our children. It’s healthy and normal to be vaccine-curious, to have questions, to want to understand exactly what’s being recommended for your child. Turning to reliable resources will help you do just that — and in turn, protect your child and those around you.
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