Gabrielle Union Won't Let Anyone Near Her Baby Who Isn't Fully Vaccinated
Gabrielle Union wouldn’t even crack the door for Oprah until she verified everyone had had whooping cough shots
Usually when Oprah asks to come over, your only question is, “What time?” But when Gabrielle Union was tapped for an interview at her home with the Queen of all Interviewers, she had a bit of a demand: everyone on the production team had to have their whooping cough shot — not to mention, be up to date with all of their vaccines.
While it’s just good parenting to protect your fragile and not fully vaccinated newborn from the world at large, Union may be even more protective than some new moms. She recently shared the story of her struggle to have a baby, and how she’s been through nine miscarriages, IVF, and a surrogate pregnancy on the road to welcoming her daughter, Kaavia James.
When she shared an adorable video of her kissing her beloved baby on the lips on Instagram, she got a little blowback from followers warning her that lip-to-lip contact with very young babies could be deadly because of the common oral herpes virus, which causes cold sores in adults, but can be extremely dangerous to newborns.
“Don’t kiss the baby in the face when they’re that young,” one follower advised.
Another was more direct with their criticism: “Your mouth is the nastiest thing on the human body, you don’t your kids on the mouth knowing what all you do with it. Plus check her breathing.”
She responded by telling fans that there’s no reason to worry at all about the health decisions she’s making for her baby.
“Kaav is healthy and I don’t even touch her without washing and sanitizing myself and everything and everyone that comes into contact with her,” she wrote in response to criticism. “No visits with sick folk, and even all of Oprah’s crew got whooping cough vaccinations and current on all vaccinations to be in our home.”
“If you think I waited this long and went thru all this to put my baby in harm’s way… you got another thing coming,” she wrote.
The interview with Oprah aired on Sunday, for her show, Super Soul Sunday. In the interview, Union talks about how hard it was to let go of the experience of carrying a baby, the experience of having multiple miscarriages, and how she wants to end the stigma and shame surrounding her medical condition and her use of a surrogate. Her husband, NBA player Dwayne Wade, talks about supporting his wife through the process of having a child and why it was a no-brainer for him to take paternity leave.
But the biggest takeaway? Union is not messing around when it comes to her baby’s health — and that means vaccines are a non-negotiable. As they should be.
