Vaccinations in pregnancy
What we know
Vaccines are a key way of protecting ourselves and our families from infectious diseases. All vaccines have to pass tests and trials before they are approved, meaning they are safe for you and your child.
Some vaccines will have mild side effects such as a sore arm or perhaps a high temperature for children for one or two days. The benefits of having them outweighs the risks of getting any disease, especially when pregnant.
Whooping cough
It is recommended that all pregnant women receive the whooping cough vaccine between 20 and 32 weeks. This vaccine will give your unborn baby immunity until it develops it’s own, which will protect it from whooping cough in the first few weeks after it is born. Babies receive their first immunisations at eight weeks old and whooping cough is included in the NHS schedule.
If you miss your vaccine for any reason, it is safe to receive it right up until you go into labour. It is usually given by your GP, although you may be offered it at an antenatal appointment.
Seasonal Flu
All pregnant women are offered the ‘flu jab because you are at an increased risk of catching the ‘flu and of getting more sick if you catch it.
It can be given safely at any time during the pregnancy but the ‘flu season in the UK usually runs from October to February.
Hepatitis B
Pregnant women are tested for hepatitis B as part of the routine blood tests carried out at your booking appointment. You contract the disease by having contact with an infected person’s blood or other body fluids. It can cause severe disease in adults and a chronic infection for infants so women who are at high-risk of contracting it will be given the vaccine.
You will need to have three injections of the vaccine at recommended intervals to be fully protected from the disease.
Your baby will be given three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine during the NHS schedule at eight, 12 and 16 weeks old.
Tetanus
Tetanus, which is caused when bacteria gets into a wound. It is rare in England because a preventive injection is given as part of the childhood vaccination programme. The vaccine is safe to be given during pregnancy.
Travel vaccinations
If you are planning a “babymoon” before your baby is born, you will need to check which vaccinations are recommended and if these are safe during pregnancy.
Many of the required vaccines, including yellow fever, BCG (tuberculosis) and oral typhoid are “live”. This means the vaccine contains a small amount of the virus, which could pass to your baby.
Pregnant women can also be more susceptible to malaria so it is best to avoid countries where instances of it are high if you can. If you are travelling to a country with a high level of malaria, make sure you get advice about which anti-malarials are safe to take whilst you are pregnant.
Medical advice
Speak to your GP or midwife for more information about vaccines. In some cases “live” vaccines can be given if the risk of infection is higher than the risk from the jab.
