Vaccines are one of the greatest triumphs of modern medicine. They prevent illness and save millions of lives.In our country, universal maternal immunisation has almost eradicated deadly diseases like Neonatal Tetanus.However, many pregnant women and their families are sceptical about the safety of vaccination for the growing fetus.
According to the ACIP guidelines, there is no evidence of the risk of vaccinating women with inactivated viral or bacterial vaccines or toxoids.However, live vaccines administered to pregnant women may pose a theoretical risk to the fetus. Thus, live attenuated virus and live bacterial vaccines are generally contraindicated during pregnancy.
Here, we discuss in detail the indications and safe usage of various vaccines in pregnancy.
Recommended vaccines in pregnancy
If you are travelling to areas of high exposure, a food handler, or have any other high-risk factor, your doctor may advise you to take the Hepatitis A vaccine. It's made from Inactivated Hepatitis A virus, so theoretically, the risk is low.
Rabies vaccine is a killed virus vaccine. Because of the serious and potentially fatal nature of the disease caused by the rabies virus, post-exposure vaccination is not contraindicated in pregnancy. In cases where exposure is expected to be high, pre-exposure prophylactic vaccination may also be advised.
Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for all adults from 19 - 59 years. If pregnancy is not a contraindication for this vaccine, as it's a recombinant antigen vaccine, you may be advised to take this vaccine.
The vaccine against the yellow fever virus is the only live vaccine that is not contraindicated during pregnancy. If you must travel to an area of high exposure to the yellow fever virus, such that your risk outweighs vaccination risks, the vaccination is advised.
As per the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), 'neither inactivated nor live-virus vaccines administered to the lactating woman affect the safety of breastfeeding for women or their infants.'
Thus, Vaccines are the tugboats of preventive health. They provide protection to you and your baby. Please follow your doctor's advice and get immunisation at the appropriate time
The most common vaccines given during pregnancy are the flu shot, Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine, and the RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered during pregnancy.
The Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine is compulsory for every pregnancy. It is usually given between weeks 27 and 36, irrespective of how many times you have received it earlier.
In India, the TT (Tetanus Toxoid) vaccine is given in two doses – one as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed and the second dose after a 4-week gap. In other countries, the Tdap vaccine is given between weeks 27 and 36 of the pregnancy.
The Tdap vaccine protects against Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis. It is safe and recommended for every pregnancy between weeks 27 and 36 to provide the newborn baby with antibodies against these 3 serious diseases that can become life-threatening for infants.
