County Obstetrics & Gynecology
STL Leaders in Women’s Healthcare
Vaccines in Pregnancy
You aren't just protecting yourself—vaccines during pregnancy give your baby some early protection too!
Did you know a baby can get some disease protection from their mom during pregnancy?
Getting flu, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) while you’re pregnant helps your body create protective antibodies (proteins produced by the body to fight off diseases), and you can pass on those antibodies to your baby. These antibodies can help protect your baby from those diseases during the first few months of life.
Flu, Tdap, and RSV vaccination while pregnant can help keep you and your little one safe.
CDC and a panel of experts who make vaccine recommendations have concluded that flu, Tdap, and RSV vaccines are not harmful for pregnant women and their babies. These experts carefully reviewed the available safety data before recommending any vaccines during pregnancy.
Vaccines, like medicine, can have side effects.
Most people who get vaccinated have mild or no side effects. The most common side effects of these vaccines include fever, tiredness, and body aches, as well as redness, swelling, and tenderness at the site where the shot was given.
The Tdap vaccine helps protect against whooping cough, which can be really dangerous for your baby.
You’ll need a Tdap vaccine during your pregnancy, with optimal timing between the 27th through 36th week of each pregnancy, preferably during the earlier part of this time period.
What is Whooping cough
Whooping cough is a serious disease that can be deadly for babies.
Unfortunately, babies don’t start building their own protection against whooping cough until they get vaccinated at two months old. This leaves babies unprotected in the first months of life when they’re at highest risk of
About half of babies younger than 1 year old who get whooping cough need treatment in the hospital.
The younger a baby is when they get whooping cough, the more likely the baby will need to be treated in a hospital.
Tdap helps protect against whooping cough (pertussis), which can be life-threatening for newborns.
After receiving Tdap, a pregnant woman’s body creates protective antibodies and passes high levels of them to the baby before birth. These antibodies provide the baby with some short-term protection against whooping cough in early life. They can protect the baby from some of the serious complications of whooping cough.
- The amount of antibodies you have in your body after getting vaccinated decreases over time. When you get a vaccine during one pregnancy, your antibody levels may not stay high enough to provide enough protection during future pregnancies, even if your babies are close in age. So, make sure you give baby number 2 (and 3 and 4…) the greatest amount of protective antibodies and the best disease protection possible by getting your Tdap vaccine each time you are pregnant.
- Instead of during a specific time of year, CDC recommends you get your Tdap vaccine in each pregnancy, ideally between the 27th and 36th week. Getting Tdap during this period preferably during the earlier part, helps pass the greatest amount of protective antibodies to your baby before birth. This will help protect your baby during their first few months of life when they are most vulnerable to serious disease and complications.
- If you get pregnant again, you’ll need a Tdap vaccine with each pregnancy.
The Flu vaccine
Get a flu shot if you are pregnant during flu season—it’s the best way to protect yourself and your baby from flu.
Flu shots have been given to millions of women during their pregnancies over more than 50 years with an excellent safety record. There is substantial evidence that flu shots are safe during pregnancy for mom and baby. CDC and ACIP recommend flu vaccination during any trimester of pregnancy.
Why the vaccine is important?
Flu may also be dangerous for your pregnancy.
Changes in your immune, heart, and lung functions during pregnancy make you more likely to get seriously ill from flu. Pregnancy increases the risk of being hospitalized with the flu and having flu-related complications if you get sick with the flu. A common flu symptom is fever, which has been associated in some studies with neural tube defects and other adverse outcomes for a developing baby.
Getting the flu shot during pregnancy can protect against flu and flu related hospitalizations.
When you get a flu vaccine during pregnancy, you pass antibodies along to your baby that can help protect them from flu in the first few months after they’re born, when they are too young to be vaccinated themselves.
When you get a flu shot while pregnant or breastfeeding your body develops antibodies against flu that are shared with your baby through breast milk.
RSV Vaccine
RSV is a common cause of severe respiratory illness in infants.
Babies infected with RSV can have difficulty breathing and eating and sometimes may need respiratory support or hydration in the hospital.
There are two ways to protect your baby from getting very sick with RSV.
- You can choose to get RSV vaccine during weeks 32 through 36 of your pregnancy if you are delivering between September to January.
Your baby aged 8 months or younger can get RSV immunization during their first RSV season.
Anyone who is around your baby needs vaccines too.
Newborns do not yet have fully developed immune systems, making them particularly vulnerable to infections.
Older kids and adults can spread viruses to babies, even if they don’t feel very sick. Because of this, anyone who is around babies should be up to date on all recommended vaccines. This includes parents, siblings, and any other caregivers, like grandparents, or babysitters
Anyone who needs vaccines should get them at least two weeks before meeting the baby because it takes about two weeks to develop antibodies after vaccination.
Board Certified Physician:
Dr. Lawrence V. Boveri
Dr. Stephen A. Boveri
Our Location
1859 Bowles Avenue
Suite 103
Fenton, MO 63026
Our Hours:
Monday: 9:00 – 5:00
Tuesday: 9:00 – 5:00
Wednesday: 9:00 – 5:00
Thursday: 9:00 – 3:00
Friday: 9:00 – 12:00