Dr. Samantha Johnston is back for round two. This time: early childhood vaccines.

This episode covers every question new parents actually ask — why hep B is given at birth, whether the ACIP changes affect anything right now (they don’t, thanks to an AAP lawsuit), what the autism data actually shows, why spacing out vaccines backfires, what aluminum in vaccines means in context, and why giving Tylenol before shots is no longer recommended.

Plus: kids today get exposed to 130 antigens through vaccines. Kids in the 1980s got over 3,000 — for fewer diseases. The episode reframes almost every common concern about childhood vaccines.

Angel admits the autism thought crossed her mind when vaccinating her own kids. She vaccinated on schedule anyway.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult your treating physician for guidance specific to your situation!

Vaccines during pregnancy: what to get, what you can’t get, and why it all matters more than most people realize.

In this episode, Dr. Angel is joined by Dr. Samantha Johnston, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and longtime friend. Together they walk through the four vaccines recommended during pregnancy — Tdap, RSV, COVID, and flu — and explain exactly what each one is doing for the mom and the baby. They also cover MMR and varicella (live vaccines that can’t be given during pregnancy), herpes near delivery, and the new RSV monoclonal antibody for newborns.

The ‘Stuff You Didn’t Know’ segment covers measles immune amnesia — how the natural measles virus can erase up to 70% of your lifetime immune memory. The vaccine doesn’t do this. The disease does.

Raman ends the episode with Dr. Johnston’s number saved as Rash Samantha.

Ashley is 5.5 months pregnant, the baby bash is coming up, and Raman still doesn't have an apartment near the baby.

Episode 7 of The Unplanned Parent is the practical one. Ashley spent 15 hours on her baby registry and is overwhelmed by the options. Raman plans to go with the flow and is grateful Ashley did the hard work. Dr. Angel steps in with the information that actually matters: what to look for in a car seat, why Wirecutter and Consumer Reports are your best friends, what the stroller pram function is for, and why the weight of the car seat itself matters more than most people think.

They also cover breastfeeding — including what the data actually says about breastfeeding with breast implants, what to do when the latch doesn't work, and how pumping compares with breastfeeding. Plus sleep safety, co-bedding vs. bassinet, tongue ties, circumcision, and the two things you absolutely need to decide before you leave the hospital.

And: 70% of people make errors installing a car seat. Even experienced ones. There's a fix for that.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult your treating physician for guidance specific to your situation!

Ashley is 22 weeks pregnant. And she's finally telling her side of the story.

In Episode 6, she walks through how she got here: the deadline she gave herself at 42, the FaceTime call where Raman's name came up as a joke, and the morning-after text where he said he was actually considering it. She also explains why she chose a known person over a sperm donor — and why specifically Raman.

Then she gets into the legal agreement. What started easy became hard fast. Two things in the document made her cry. One almost made her call everything off.

Dr. Angel closes with why talking through the big parenting questions before you have a baby is so much better than after.

Ashley is finally here, and she's 22 weeks pregnant.

In Episode 5, she tells her own story: why she froze her eggs at 34, what it actually felt like to give herself daily shots for three weeks, and why she went back and did it again at 40.

She also shares the unexpected thing the egg freezing process gave her: a diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis that had been missed for years, and a treatment that changed how she felt almost overnight.

Dr. Angel walks through the science: thyroid hormone and fertility, how the egg-to-embryo attrition process works, what the data says about IVF outcomes, and the story of the first IVF baby born in 1978.

The first time we hear this story from the other side of it.

The baby is coming. Raman has thought about approximately two things.

Dr. Angel Rampal puts her brother through the questions every new parent should be sitting with before the due date: circumcision, breastfeeding (and whether you can have a drink while doing it), cord blood banking and what those OB-office brochures aren't telling you, infant CPR, skin-to-skin for dads, sleep safety, and a few things most parents don't find out until they're mid-diaper-change.

Angel also shares something personal: postpartum depression with all three of her kids, and what it looked like when she finally couldn't power through anymore.

A lot of ground. A lot of honesty. The usual.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult your treating physician for guidance specific to your situation!

Raman thought the hard part was over after the yes text. Then Ashley called from the doctor's office.

The recommendation: quit vaping for 90 days to improve sperm quality. Raman's first reaction was to hang up and vape ten times in a row.

Episode 3 is the story of how he actually did it — the addiction, the logistics of quitting, the dismantled vape that ended up in a dumpster at 1:30am, and the before-and-after sperm analysis that made it all worth it.

Dr. Angel covers the science behind nicotine and sperm health, what men should be doing in the preconception window, and how to talk to teenagers about vaping before it becomes a problem. Plus: ChatGPT as a surprisingly effective quit coach.

Saying yes was the easy part.

In Episode 2, Raman walks through the six months between his "I'm in" text and the actual embryo implantation — and it was a lot more than just showing up to a clinic. Psychological evaluations. Lawyers. A legally binding document covering everything from vaccines to what kind of car the kid can ride in. And one sperm sample that, in his own words, could have been better.

Dr. Angel weighs in on what she found surprisingly refreshing about the whole process, when to tell a child they were conceived non-traditionally, and the science behind why all of Raman and Ashley's viable embryos came back male.

Thorough, candid, and occasionally very funny.

What does it actually take to say yes to becoming a parent — especially when it was never part of the plan?

In this first episode of The Unplanned Parent, Dr. Angel Rampal (board-certified pediatrician) and her brother, Raman, kick off the season by going back to the very beginning: the moment a running joke between friends stopped being a joke. Raman's longtime friend Ashley had frozen her eggs at 34, she was ready to have a baby at 44, and she wanted to know if Raman was in. His first answer? Hell no.

This episode traces how that hell no turned into a text message that said "I'm in — where do I go?" They cover the long deliberation process, the friends and family Raman consulted (including a Tim walk that shifted things), the lawyers and accountants who told him not to do it, and the one variable that quietly tipped the scale: everyone who knew Ashley said yes.

Dr. Angel also weighs in from a pediatrician's perspective — what the research actually says about non-traditional family structures, why platonic co-parenting can work, and the medical detail that gave her the most hope: Ashley's decision to freeze her eggs a decade ago.

No scripts. No tidy conclusions. Just two siblings sorting through a genuinely unusual situation — and a season just getting started.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

YouTube Chapters

00:00 Cold Open — 'If we end up old and want kids, just ask'

00:46 Welcome to The Unplanned Parent — Angel Introduces the Show

01:17 Meet Raman — The Nomadic Co-Host Who Said Yes to Fatherhood

02:06 The Man Who Never Wanted Kids

03:25 D-Day: The Text That Started It All

04:25 How the Joke Between Raman and Ashley Started

05:43 How Raman and Ashley Know Each Other

07:35 Ashley Gives Raman a Deadline: Answer by Thanksgiving

08:26 Raman's First Answer: Hell No

09:17 What Made Him Reconsider — The Kids on the Ski Trips

11:13 Angel's First Reaction: Also Hell No (But for Different Reasons)

13:06 Angel's 180 — Why She Changed Her Mind

15:20 The Tim Walk — The Conversation That Helped

16:12 Bobby's Advice: There Is No Wrong Answer

17:08 The Lawyers and Accountants Who Said Don't Do It

17:59 What Raman's Parents Said

19:22 The Pattern Raman Noticed: Everyone Who Knew Ashley Said Yes

20:09 What It Takes to Co-Parent With Someone — Angel's Take

21:56 The Mental Hurdles: Raman Was Dating Someone

22:35 Masha — How His Girlfriend Fit Into the Decision

23:00 The Poconos House, Gabby the Dog, and What Might Change

25:26 Ashley's Promise: Your Involvement Level Is Up to You

26:03 Angel's Pediatric Take on Non-Traditional Family Structures

27:30 What Raman Might Have Missed — Angel's Medical Concerns

28:33 Ashley Froze Her Eggs at 34 — Why That Matters

29:18 Is This Normal? Two Friends Having a Baby Together

30:01 Angel's Biggest Concern: Carrying a Pregnancy at 44

31:34 The Adverse Childhood Events Research — What Actually Affects Kids

33:38 Why This Baby Is Starting With Plus Points

34:24 Closing — What's Coming Next episode

A pediatrician. Her brother. His platonic co-parenting journey. The Unplanned Parent follows one family's real-time path to baby, with the science, the decisions, and the conversations your doctor skips. New episodes every other week.