Vaccines help protect you and your baby against serious diseases. The simple concept of vaccinations in pregnancy is that vaccinated mothers pass on protective antibodies (infection-fighting molecules) to their babies before they are born. This provides some immunity against certain vaccine-preventable diseases during their first few months of life, when your baby is still too young to be vaccinated.
It also helps provide important protection for you throughout your pregnancy. However, it must be kept in mind that some vaccines cannot be taken during pregnancy. Immunization prior to conception would be ideal for the prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases.Before receiving any vaccinations while pregnant, you should know which vaccinations you have already had. A basic thing to remember is that live-virus vaccines, should not be given to pregnant women, because they may be harmful to the baby. Below are a few vaccines that all pregnant women should know about:
Vaccines that can be given during pregnancy
1.Influenza – The flu vaccine is safe to receive at any point during pregnancy and is highly recommended during flu season https://atomic-temporary-89405474.wpcomstaging.com/2017/02/27/flu-shots-during-pregnancy/
2.Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis-Tdap is recommended during pregnancy\to protect baby from whooping cough. This vaccine can be given either before pregnancy or after the 20th week of pregnancy . If not administered during pregnancy, Tdap should be administered immediately after the birth of your baby.
3.Hepatitis B – Pregnant women who are at high risk for this disease can receive this vaccine. It is used to protect the mother and baby against infection. https://atomic-temporary-89405474.wpcomstaging.com/2017/02/13/why-pregnant-women-should-be-screened-for-hepatitis-b/
4.Vaccines for Travel – When you’re pregnant, it’s best to avoid visiting countries or areas where vaccinations are required. If travel is inevitable, you should talk to your doctor at least 4 to 6 weeks before your trip to discuss any special precautions or vaccines that you may need.
Before becoming pregnant, you should be up to date on routine adult vaccines.
Here is a list of vaccines that you may need to take if you are not pregnant yet but planning to get pregnant-
- Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) – It is very important for women to be up to date on their measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine before becoming pregnant. You probably received the MMR vaccine as a child, but you should confirm this with your doctor. If you need to get an MMR vaccine, you should avoid becoming pregnant until one month after receiving the MMR vaccine.
- Varicella– this vaccine should be received at least one month in advance of attempting to become pregnant.
- Pneumococcal vaccine– Women at high risk need to be given this vaccination before, but not during, pregnancy.
References-
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4286306/
http://americanpregnancy.org/is-it-safe/vaccination-during-pregnancy/
https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/vaccinations-pregnant.aspx#Hepatitis
https://www.vaccines.gov/who_and_when/pregnant/index.html
https://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-safe-to-get-vaccinated-during-pregnancy_9541.bc
https://www.webmd.com/baby/pregnancy-is-it-safe-to-get-vaccinations#2
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/pregnant-women/index.html
– Dr.Afroze Fatima
#Thinkhealth blog 