Pregnancy Vaccination

Overview

During pregnancy, the immune system becomes weaker than usual. This means you are more prone to certain infections and illnesses that can be dangerous to you and your developing baby in your pregnancy.

Vaccination is an effective and very simple way to protect you and your baby from infections. Before being pregnant, ensure that your vaccinations are up to date to protect against diseases.

Everything You Need to Know About Pregnancy Vaccination

Vaccination | Pregnancy Vaccination | Vaccinations Given in Pregnancy | Prenatal and Postnatal | Conclusion

What is a vaccination?

A vaccination is a medication made  to help prevent you from certain types of illnesses. It contains a weakened, live or killed microorganism that helps in stimulating the body’s adaptive immunity to prevent sickness from the organism causing an infectious disease. 

Vaccinations are beneficial during pregnancy because they safeguard you and your unborn child.

What is pregnancy vaccination?

Pregnant women are advised to have the immobilized seasonal flu vaccination and the deadly cough vaccination to safeguard themselves and their unborn children.

When an inactivated vaccination is used, the virus it is guarding against does not exist. Likewise, the tetanus vaccination is safe for pregnant women to get if required. The kind of immunization is, however, an important consideration. 

The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and fever vaccinations, for instance, also have possible dangers, and you should talk them with your physician before choosing whether to get the vaccine.

Please inform your healthcare practitioner if you have any serious sensitivities or if you’ve ever had a serious adverse response to a vaccine before receiving any vaccinations.

Sub Treatments For Pregnancy Care

Vaccinations given in pregnancy

Two immunizations are usually recommended during pregnancy: the flu shot and the tetanus shot.

• The flu (influenza) vaccine is administered. You should consider getting a flu vaccination if you are expecting during flu season. Because the flu vaccine is created from an inactive virus, it is secure for you and the baby to receive. Avoid using the flu nasal spray vaccination, which contains a live virus, should be avoided.
• Whooping cough (pertussis)can cause serious illness and even death in babies less than 6 months old. New guidelines recommend that all pregnant women receive one dose of pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination between 20 and 32 weeks every pregnancy. A combination of antibodies in the mother’s bloodstream and the decreased risk of contracting the disease make this an ideal time to administer the vaccine. 

Tetanus toxoid, hepatitis B, pneumococcal are vaccines are all recommended for children. In addition, when protecting your infant against whooping coughing, one shot of the Tdap vaccine is advised in every pregnancy, irrespective of whether you received your previous Tdap / tetanus-diphtheria (Td) immunization.

When should the vaccination be administered during pregnancy? Preferably, it should be given between twenty-seven and thirty-six weeks.

In addition to protecting you from an illness during pregnancy, receiving the flu shot during pregnancy may also effectively safeguard your baby after delivery before they could be immunized against diseases. As the flu and terrible cough may be extremely deadly for newborns, it is essential to do so.

Prenatal and Postnatal vaccinations

A great chance to locate your vaccination records and discuss them with your health care physician arises during the preconception trimester. Some vaccinations should be explored for all females who try to get pregnant, while others should be avoided. Others can be suggested depending on the presence of other medical concerns.

Doctors may advise women who have just given birth to obtain specific immunizations. For example, if a mother can breastfeed, postnatal vaccination will help to protect her against illness and transmit some of the antibodies onto the baby.

However, if a pregnant woman does not obtain specific immunizations before or during pregnancy, post-pregnancy vaccination is even more critical.

Nevertheless, if a mother isn’t vaccinated till after the birth of her child, she won’t be able to defend herself instantly. This is because the body takes roughly two weeks to produce antibodies following vaccination.

Watch this video to learn more about immunization during pregnancy from a health expert.

Conclusion

So now you know that immunisation during pregnancy is important to protect you and your unborn child. Hence, its a must for all pregnant women to receive vaccines.

Do remember to avoid pregnancy within 28 days of having a live vaccine of Measles, chicken pox and rubella. Nowadays in current pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for women who wish to become pregnant.

Connect with our experts to know more about the importance of  vaccinations during pregnancy.

Our Expert Team