VACCINATIONS RECOMMENDED IN PREGNANCY
- Pippagina
- May 5, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
Flu Vaccine
Most countries in Europe recommend the flu vaccine in pregnancy. A pregnant woman’s immune system is more compromised during pregnancy, meaning she is more susceptible to catching infections and in the case of illnesses such as flu can potentially become sicker than she would in the non pregnant state. Risks include developing bronchitis or even pneumonia. Research shows that contracting flu in pregnancy can result in a smaller baby, premature delivery and in rare cases stillbirth. When getting a vaccine you make antibodies against that disease and therefore if you receive a vaccination during pregnancy those antibodies transfer to your baby via the placenta ; and therefore protect the baby in the first few weeks of life.
As with any virus a new strain develops each year, therefore each year a new flu vaccine comes onto the market which is appropriate for that years current strain. In Europe usually the vaccine roles out in September. You can take the vaccine as early as in the first trimester of pregnancy, but depending where your due date is you may end up having it later in pregnancy, or later in the year. It is worth noting that the vaccine can be administered right up to the late third trimester.
You can receive your flu vaccine from your general doctor, gynaelcologist/obstetrician, some pharmacists or the hospital you will deliver at.
Potential Side effects.
Soreness at the injection site
Slight fever
Headache
Muscle aches
Whooping Cough /Pertussis Vaccination
The World Health Organisation and other health authorities have recommended the TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis ) vaccine during each pregnancy to protect newborns and the pregnant mother from whooping cough since 2015.
Whooping cough is highly contagious disease, with infants under the age of one years of age being most affected, it can lead to pneumonia, brain damage and can sometimes be fatal to a newborn.
In most European countries the first whooping cough vaccine is given around two months of age with the second around 4 months, at which time the baby has his or her own immunity to the disease. This means there is a gap between birth and four months where a newborn potentially has no immunity to this disease.
Research done at the famous Charite Hospital in Berlin showed that where mothers were given the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy not only were the maternal antibodies found in the baby's blood but also in the nasal mucosa of newborns, which is the first port of entry for these pathogens. Vaccinating the mother in the late second trimester or early third trimester provides newborns with protection from whooping cough before they receive their own vaccines. The standing committee on Vaccination (STIKO) in Germany has recommended the whooping cough vaccine since 2020 . In other parts of Europe for example the UK the vaccine has been recommended since 2012, in France since 2022, and in Spain since 2015.
The recommendation is that a pregnant mother is vaccinated in each pregnancy even if there has been a short gap from the last pregnancy. With each vaccination the mother makes antibodies that she passes to her baby through the placenta.
Are there any side effects?
The vaccine is not a live vaccine therefore there is no risk of giving whooping cough to the mother or her baby.
Studies on over 20,000 women have shown that there is no increased risk of stillbirth , prematurity or low birth weight where women received the vaccine in pregnancy.
Potential Side effects
redness, pain swelling or tenderness at the injection site,
rarely a low grade fever,
headache or body aches.
Covid Vaccination
The new recommendations are that pregnant women do not need to be routinely vaccinated against covid 19 in pregnancy; though it is advised a vaccination is given if the pregnant woman has an under lying health condition that could put her at a higher risk of complications if she contracted COVID 19.
RSV Vaccine in Pregnancy. (Respiratory Syncytial Virus.)
RSV is a common virus that exhibits as a cough and a cold that most people will experience a couple of times in a life time. But in people who are immune suppressed, or in young babies this illness can cause breathing problems that may need to be treated in hospital and can potentially lead to pneumonia and bronchitis.
The RSV season tends to run from November to April. A vaccine has been available for RSV since 2024. Countries across Europe vary in whether they give this to the mother, the baby or both.
In Germany STIKO advices that the vaccine should be given to newborns in their first RSV season. Therefore babies born between October and April each are given the vaccine often at the U2 examination. If born outside the RSV season, ie between April to October, then they would be offered it as from the October at the Kinderarzt Praxis.
Whereby the mother can receive the RSV vaccine in pregnancy, at the moment the German Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) has not issued a general vaccination recommendation for pregnant individuals. Therefore it is possible to get the maternal vaccine, ( the recommended time would be between 28-36 weeks in the RSV season), but most health insurance companies would not cover the payment here in Germany.
Vaccines That Are Not Usually Recommended In Pregnancy
Live vaccines are not usually advised in pregnancy. These include:
BCG (vaccination against tuberculosis)
MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
oral polio (which forms part of the 6-in-1 vaccine given to infants)
oral typhoid
yellow fever
Sometimes, a live vaccine may be used during pregnancy if the risk of infection is greater than the risk of the vaccination.
Travel and Vaccines
When considering other vaccines especially if you are traveling be sure to check with an expert who knows you are pregnant before accepting a vaccine. Often going to a specialist travel clinic or Tropical disease centre clinic.
References
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