What vaccinations do pregnant in America
'26.01.2019'
Source: Consumer Reports
It has long been known that influenza can be one of the most dangerous diseases for pregnant women, and recent research by scientists published in the journal Birth Defects Research has shown that influenza is also dangerous for a developing baby. But there is an easy way to reduce this risk - vaccination.
Another study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, showed that a flu vaccine can reduce the likelihood of hospitalization of a pregnant woman by about 40%, writes Consumer Reports.
Earlier, American doctors and scientists have shown that Tdap, a vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough for adults, can by 78% reduce the likelihood that a baby will become infected with whooping cough during the first two months of life.
Both flu shots and Tdap are recommended during pregnancy. But only about half of the expectant mothers received these vaccines during the very difficult flu season of 2017-2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
According to experts, this is a serious problem.
“Even during the relatively mild season, thousands of women are hospitalized with pregnancy complications,” says Mark Thompson, an epidemiologist at the CDC's influenza department. "And any such hospitalization is a threat to the mother and child."
For example, whooping cough can cause infant death: about half of the children younger than a year old who become ill with this disease are hospitalized, and 1 of 100 dies.
Pregnant women are not recommended to drink pills, and many are afraid of vaccinations during this period. But scientists say these two vaccines are important and safe. Here is what you need to know.
Vaccination against influenza
This vaccine is recommended during every pregnancy and can be vaccinated at any time. If possible, in any year, try to do it before the end of October - then the defense will be formed before the season picks up steam.
Vaccination will protect your child from the flu for the first six months of life, until he grows up enough to vaccinate him. But vaccination is important for the future mother. In pregnant women, flu causes many more serious complications, such as fever, pneumonia, sepsis, or even death.
The main reason is that the immune system cannot just as easily fight off infections while protecting both the fetus and the mother, says Laura Riley, obstetrician and chief gynecologist at the clinic NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center
Riley notes that the risk is not only that the chances of getting sick are higher. In severe viruses, including influenza, the risk of premature birth increases.
Numerous studies over the years have shown that it is safe for pregnant women to be vaccinated against the flu - and of course neither the baby nor the mother will get sick from the vaccine (although there may be temporary side effects at first, such as a decrease in overall body temperature or pain in hand).
Note: pregnant women can be vaccinated injections, and not nasal sprays, where the virus is in a weakened state. Such sprays are not recommended for expectant mothers.
Pertussis vaccination
According to the CDC, pregnant women should receive one dose of Tdap between 27 and 36 for weeks.
Whooping cough is a disease that can cause intense coughing fits and is usually more serious during pregnancy than during other periods of adulthood, says Jeanne Sheffield, MD, director of the department of fetal medicine and professor at Johns Hopkins University. But whooping cough can be very dangerous for babies, and they don't get the vaccine until they are two months old.
“Infected children can develop pneumonia, seizures, encephalopathy, and possibly death,” Sheffield says.
Tdap is safe for pregnant mothers and their children.
Other vaccinations
Tdap and influenza are the only vaccines recommended for all pregnant women, but sometimes they are not the only vaccines. For example, if you have had contact with someone with hepatitis B, you may need to be vaccinated. In all cases, consult your doctor.
If you are planning to travel abroad, ask if you need to get vaccinated against diseases that are common in the destination country. And if you get pregnant and missed any vaccinations that you should have received as a child (for example, against measles, mumps, and rubella), ask your doctor - it might be worth getting them now.
These vaccines can be given right after childbirth to help keep you from getting sick, and if you are breastfeeding, you will pass antibodies to these diseases to your baby through breast milk.
