September 17, 2021

Trusted Voices: My Dilemma

Clinical Partners, Life@Work, Rural Health

By: Janelle Terhaar, CNP

In March 2020, two weeks before I gave birth to my daughter, Vivian, everything shut down due to the pandemic. My kids were distance learning at home and I was working from home. We live on a hobby farm on a dead-end dirt road, so it was easy to lock down. But when I prepared to return from maternity leave in July 2020, it was a transition. When I went back to work, I started to see the illness rather than just hear about it.

As a new mom, my focus was on keeping my family safe while also staying well-educated with the science of everything. I didn’t focus on any politics, I didn’t watch the news or read any posts that was somebody’s opinion. At the time we had two presidential candidates who were polar opposites and everything was politicized. Even Dr. Fauci felt too political. So I only focused on factual, science-based things and relied on sources like the CDC and WHO. As a healthcare provider, I felt it was my role to do due diligence so I could offer my patients scientific and evidence-based information without opinion.

When vaccines became available, I was initially conflicted about whether I should get it in December or wait until I was done breastfeeding with Vivian. So I looked at the overall research of the messenger RNA (mRNA) and how it’s been around for decades. I looked at the overall history of vaccines and the history of pandemics. I also researched the impact on pregnant people because I wanted to be well-educated.

Ultimately, I chose to get the vaccine while I was breastfeeding. I made this decision because we can predict what happens with the vaccine. We can predict how it works and we can predict the antibodies. With the illness, you can’t predict it. You just don’t know how it will impact you. And for me and my family circle, I just didn’t want to deal with the unpredictable nature of it for my baby, my children and for my spouse.

I have a strong faith in God, and when I look at the science of this vaccine, there’s no way somebody created something like this without God blessing them with that intelligence. Once I got vaccinated, I felt like I had extra armor and protection, and I felt like I had control of my life again.