Asking Questions About Vaccines Isn’t Anti-Science. It’s Smart.
- Ryan Sheridan, NP
- Apr 27
- 6 min read
One of the things I see nearly daily now, whether I’m working with patients or families in St. Louis, D.C., Colorado, or beyond, is that parents are afraid to ask honest questions about vaccines.
They’re afraid of being labeled “anti-vax” just for wanting to understand what’s happening to their own bodies, or their kids’.
Let me be clear:
Asking questions is not anti-vaccine. It’s responsible. It’s intelligent. It’s the only way we get better care.
In my integrative psychiatry practice, I encourage every parent, every patient, to ask about ingredients, about risks, about timing, about alternatives. That’s not skepticism for skepticism’s sake — it’s simply making informed decisions based on your biology, your risks, your situation.
Because here’s the thing no one can deny: one-size-fits-all healthcare doesn’t exist. We’re not lab rats. We’re individuals.
We all want healthy kids. We all want healthy communities. But pretending that full trust without full information is “the science” — that’s not helping anyone. Real science invites questions. Real healthcare welcomes them.
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this:
You’re not crazy for asking. You’re being a good parent. A good citizen. A good human being.
Inflammation, Mitochondria, and Mental Health: The Connections They Don’t Teach in School
Inflammation is one of the great unspoken villains of modern disease — and if you care about mental health, you better start caring about inflammation.
Here’s why:
Your mitochondria — those tiny “power plants” inside every cell — are responsible for producing about 90% of your body’s energy (ATP). That includes energy for your muscles, your immune system, your heart, and your brain.
When inflammation sticks around — either from infection, injury, toxins, or poor lifestyle — it generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which basically act like acid rain inside your cells.
Too much ROS breaks down mitochondrial membranes, mutates mitochondrial DNA, and destroys the machinery that makes energy.
The result?
Low energy. Brain fog. Depression. Anxiety.
Neurodegeneration. Chronic illness.
And guess which cells get hit the hardest?
Brain cells.
Your brain burns through a ridiculous amount of energy — about 20% of your entire daily calorie use — just to function. When mitochondria aren’t working, the brain gets sluggish, inflamed, and eventually, sick.
That’s why conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, even schizophrenia, are increasingly being seen as inflammatory, metabolic diseases — not just “chemical imbalances” like Big Pharma would love you to believe.
Integrative psychiatry understands that.
We don’t just mask symptoms — we calm inflammation, we repair mitochondria, and we restore brain function from the ground up.
When Infections Strike During Pregnancy: The Hidden Risk
Now let’s talk pregnancy — because it’s a whole different battlefield.
Pregnancy isn’t just growing a baby. It’s a 9-month balancing act between activating the immune system enough to protect mom, but not so much that the mother’s immune system attacks the fetus.
When a mom gets a major infection while pregnant — we’re talking flu, rubella, cytomegalovirus, bacterial infections — the inflammatory firestorm can ripple through the placenta and into the baby’s developing brain.
Major studies show a real, measurable increase in neurodevelopmental risks — things like autism and schizophrenia — when serious infections hit during key windows of pregnancy.
For example:
A 2019 Swedish study found that mothers hospitalized for infection had about a 1.8x higher risk of having a child with autism.
Earlier studies showed similar risks with rubella and influenza.
Even severe urinary tract infections — often brushed off as “no big deal” — showed elevated neurodevelopmental risks if serious enough.
Important note:
This doesn’t mean every infection causes autism. Most babies born after an infection are perfectly healthy.
But the risk increases.
It’s statistically significant. And it points to one major conclusion: inflammation during pregnancy matters — a lot.
So when public health says we should prevent infections during pregnancy?
They’re absolutely right.
But that brings us to the next question — the one they don’t want you asking:
Vaccines, Pregnancy, and the Real Story About Risk
Vaccines are presented as the solution: stop the infections, stop the inflammation, protect mom and baby.
And sometimes, that story is true.
Sometimes.
Rubella is a shining example.
Before the rubella vaccine, catching rubella during early pregnancy was devastating. After the vaccine, cases of congenital rubella syndrome — deafness, heart defects, autism symptoms — collapsed.
That’s a huge win for science.
But here’s the missing half of the conversation:
Not every immune activation during pregnancy is safe. Even vaccine-triggered ones.
The flu shot is widely pushed on pregnant women — and yes, flu during pregnancy can cause big problems. Preventing it matters.
Same for the Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), usually given in the third trimester to shield newborns from whooping cough.
On paper, the logic makes sense:
Avoid a wild, dangerous infection.
Take a small, controlled immune hit via vaccination instead.
But pregnancy isn’t paper. It’s biology.
Pregnancy involves finely-tuned immune suppression — if you activate the immune system too strongly at the wrong time, you risk disrupting brain development.
Every immune activation — whether caused by a pathogen or a vaccine — stirs up cytokines, inflammatory molecules, and mitochondrial stress.
It’s a real biological cost.
Is it usually worth it?
Maybe.
But to pretend it’s risk-free is dishonest.
Pregnant women deserve the full truth:
Vaccines may protect against huge dangers.
But they also carry small, real risks of immune disruption — especially during vulnerable windows of fetal development.
Both can be true at the same time.
The Real Enemy: Out-of-Control Inflammation
Let’s get crystal clear here:
The enemy isn’t vaccines. It isn’t even germs.
The enemy is uncontrolled, chronic inflammation.
Inflammation scrambles the immune system. It burns out mitochondria. It scrambles brain wiring in the womb.
Whether triggered by flu, rubella, bacterial infections — or a heavy-handed vaccine at the wrong time — inflammation is the underlying risk factor.
The right vaccines, at the right time, can absolutely prevent catastrophic infections. They’re a major tool for reducing serious inflammatory storms.
But pretending that vaccine-triggered inflammation has “no effect” at all?
That’s not science.
That’s spin.
Real healthcare means understanding the biology fully — and being honest about the tradeoffs.
The Bottom Line: Be Informed, Not Fearful
Rubella vaccines, flu shots, and Tdap shots have clear benefits. They’ve saved lives. No question.
But they aren’t magic shields. They’re tools — tools that must be used wisely, individually, and with full informed consent.
Pregnancy is complicated. Immune systems are complicated.
And health decisions need to respect that complexity — not bulldoze over it.
If we’re serious about making America healthy again, we need to start treating parents like adults:
Give them full information.
Give them real risk/benefit data.
Give them the freedom to make personalized decisions for themselves and their kids.
That’s what informed healthcare looks like.
Not fear.
Not slogans.
Truth, respect, and choice.
Note: As an integrative psychiatric nurse practitioner serving communities in St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Colorado, and beyond, I often encounter questions about the interplay between vaccinations, mitochondrial function, and neurodevelopmental outcomes such as autism.
This blog post is intended for informational purposes and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider for personalized guidance.
References:
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Al-Haddad, B.J.S., et al. (2019). Long-term risk of neuropsychiatric disease after exposure to infection in utero. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(6), 594-602.
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