I want to explore why.

Dr. Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said that the so-called “first-scratch-on-the-new-car phenomenon” can at least partly explain why parents may be eager to use “natural” rather than evidence-based mainstream remedies on their kids. He remembered that feeling when his son received a hepatitis B vaccine within his first 24 hours of life — even as a doctor who knows that vaccines are safe and effective, he could empathize with the irrational fear of marring your perfect, vulnerable newborn.

But another contributing factor is that some parents feel that they’re not getting what they need from conventional medical providers, and may seek out complementary and alternative medicines and practitioners to fill the void. “Mainstream medicine has limits,” Dr. Offit said, “and often, those who practice complementary and alternative medicines don’t express those limits.”

In a 2014 survey of 14 women who had used complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy and birth in Australia, for example, a respondent named Clarissa told researchers that she went to an alternative provider after she felt she wasn’t getting useful advice from her mainstream medical team about her celiac disease. “The midwives and doctors were saying there is nothing more we can do with you, this is just how it is and I had kind of just reached loggerheads with it. So I started seeing a homeopath,” she said. (It’s worth noting there’s little evidence that homeopathy works or is safe to use for any specific health condition.)

I empathize with Clarissa. I tried a number of alternative remedies for my terrible morning sickness — including acupuncture, ginger and acupressure wristbands. I didn’t want to use anti-nausea drugs with my first child because I had that new-car fear. I didn’t want to hurt my baby. My then-obstetrician didn’t seem particularly interested in having a discussion about my concerns, or about managing my morning sickness at all. The baby was healthy, and I’d be fine, she told me. I felt I had to investigate other sources of relief on my own.

When faced with a harried or unsympathetic medical provider, patients like me might not feel compelled to tell their doctors or midwives about the unregulated or unproven remedies or products they’re using — and that’s a problem. Some treatments like supplements, herbs or even some foods could react poorly with a medication you’re already taking; or you might unintentionally take a larger dose than is safe. Additionally, manufacturers of herbs and vitamins don’t have to prove what’s in their products, or that they contain the amount listed on the label, so you may not even know what you’re swallowing.