Dr. Mona on the Elevated Thoughts Podcast: On Vaccine Safety and Politicization of Public Health

As the year wraps up, I’ve been looking back at some of my favorite chats from the shows I visited this season. New episodes return January 7.

On this episode of the Elevated Thoughts podcast, I sat down with two thoughtful first-time dads to talk about the topics parents are wrestling with right now. We got into the messy middle of vaccine hesitancy, why so many families feel caught between loud opinions, and how I work through those conversations in my practice with honesty and calm. We also talked about what it’s really like to raise kids in an online world where everyone feels permission to comment on your choices.

I shared my own experience as a pediatrician and mom. Why I struggled with decisions around my son’s early medical care, how I think about benefit and risk, and why empathy has to stay at the center of these discussions. We moved into milestones, feeding, toddler chaos, and the everyday pressure parents feel to get everything “right.”

We discuss:

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My own experience with hesitancy after my son’s traumatic birth

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The rise of online misinformation and why parents feel so unsure

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What the vitamin K refusal trend is actually putting babies at risk for

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Government involvement in vaccines and where things get complicated

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The truth about financial incentives for pediatricians

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Milestones, late walking, and why parents shouldn’t blame themselves

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How humor and connection help parents through the daily grind

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Why dads’ voices matter in parenting spaces and how they shape the culture

Elevated Thoughts is restoring positive discourse between right & left. Politics, history & culture. New episodes every Wednesday at 4PM EST

For more visitelevatedthoughtspod.com

Check out the original episode on Elevated Thoughts’ YouTube page: youtu.be/rvTp1cAsyLg

00:00 – Coming Up

00:55 – Why I re-aired this conversation

02:49 – Meet the hosts of Elevated Thoughts

03:34 – Why dads need parenting conversations too

04:32 – Why I started PedsDocTalk

06:28 – What parents are actually looking for

07:53 – Being both a pediatrician and a parent

08:49 – My own vaccine hesitation as a mom

11:27 – Why vaccine conversations became so charged

13:04 – How I talk about benefit vs risk

16:05 – Making informed choices without shaming

18:05 – Talking to vaccine hesitant families

21:10 – Why flexibility keeps families engaged in care

24:55 – Government, mandates, and public health

28:41 – Why the vitamin K shot matters

33:53 – How vaccine studies actually work

41:59 – Milestone anxiety and late walking

45:49 – Letting go of parental guilt

49:15 – What parenting is really about

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