Mandy Moore on Trusting Her Doctor

As a mom of three kids 4 and under (Gus, 4, Ozzie, 3, and Lou, 1) with husband Taylor Goldsmith, Mandy Moore knows germs are just part of the gig. But before she was dealing with real-life runny noses and toddler meltdowns, she got a head start as supermom Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us — parenting two boys and a girl on camera ahead of doing it IRL. 

These days, she’s teaming up with the Beyfortus Celebrity Mom Squad to talk about RSV protection. Quick refresher: RSV is a common virus that can cause serious lung infections in infants and a leading cause of hospitalization for babies under 1. The surprising part? Nearly 75% of those babies have no underlying health conditions.

Beyfortus isn’t a vaccine, but rather a preventive antibody that helps give babies the protection their immune systems don’t yet have. And while Moore says she’ll go to friends for opinions, when it comes to medical decisions, she trusts her family’s doctor.

Here, Moore shares why she’s speaking out, why balance is tricky when you’re a parent, and what’s on her current watch list.

On the reality of RSV

“Both my boys, Gus and Ozzie, were diagnosed [with RSV] in 2023 at the same time. And although they didn't require hospitalization, it was still pretty freaky, so much so that when I was pregnant with Lou, I was speaking to my pediatrician about it. I was adamant about figuring out how I could best protect her. 

[After she got the shot,] it just gave me tremendous relief knowing what I had been through with the boys. It's cold, flu, RSV season, and at some point, someone's going to bring something home from school. It’s just a reality that we're going to have to live with.” 

On talking with your doctor 

“I know it's a real hot-button issue, but I'm just excited to be able to represent something that worked for me and my family. I would encourage all parents out there to speak to their doctor. 

There's so many messages, there's so much information, there's so many opinions. So really finding a doctor that you trust — that you can have a really candid, honest conversation with — is magic. 

When it comes to health care decisions, having a conversation with my pediatrician and checking in with my husband was what worked best for us.” 

On her doctor’s office secret weapon 

“[If my kids have to have a shot], candy usually works.

It's making a big point of it before we leave the house. [I’ll say], ‘let's pick out a flavor together. Mom will have it in her purse.’ But now that my oldest is more aware, we talk about it. We explain it’s protecting him from getting sick, and that has seemed to be a little bit of a balm for him.” 

On learning how to parent from This Is Us

“We’re doing the rewatch podcast, That Was Us. So I feel like there's so much of the show now that is a bit of a revelation that I didn't quite understand. I have this new lens on being a parent. I'm like, ‘Oh, that's how you apologize, or ‘That's how you take accountability,’ or, ‘That's how you handle this particular situation.’ Just the level of effective communication on that show is really inspiring. How intentional people are. I feel like I'm just continuing to learn a lot.”

On finding time for herself 

“Once that bedroom door is closed, there’s usually one last, ‘Mom, am I going to have a scary dream?’ No, bud, you are not going to have a scary dream. You guys are going to have the best dreams ever. And the door closes, then all bets are off. Is it a glass of wine? Is it a cup of tea? Is it a bath? Or it could be all three. 

Or is it the quickest shower of all time so I can get into bed and watch Great British Bake Off? 

My husband's a big reader, so he would say ‘reading,’ but I'm like, no, no, no. My idea of unwinding is watching something, even if it's for 10 minutes.”

On making her own balance 

“If things feel really heavily weighted to one side, whether it's work or just family, I need to find a way back into balance. Whether it's like, ‘Hey babe, after the kids go to sleep, we need to go on a date night and maybe your mom can come and watch the monitors while we go down the street and have dinner together.’ Or, ‘Can you watch the kids?’ And I go out with my girlfriends. We're pretty good about finding time to do those things.

On looking ahead 

It’s been a really hard year, so I’m looking forward to being with my family. We have a new little cousin, who is four months younger than Lou. So just being able to celebrate all together. I'm really looking forward to figuring out what our new traditions are going to be. The more awareness they have about how special the holidays are and how much it means to them, the better it gets. And so I'm just excited to watch the holidays through their eyes.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.