Vaccines during pregnancy help baby: study

Women who receive vaccinations while pregnant can pass on beneficial proteins to their babies that help develop their fledgling immune systems, new research from University of Alberta medical scientists has found.

“These (molecules) can impact babies, by not only protecting them against certain diseases, but also by educating the immune system of newborns,” said U of A immunologist Shokrollah Elahi, principal investigator of the study.

“What we have shown is they can be transferred intact through the milk and then can be detected in the baby’s blood.”

A central focus of Elahi’s work is to better understand how the immune system develops in newborns, who are vulnerable to numerous kinds of pathogens.

Previous medical research has shown that babies can receive an immunity boost by vaccinating expectant mothers who may not have had all their shots. This benefit has largely been associated with antibodies, which are produced through pre-natal immunizations and then passed to the fetus in the womb, or later through breastfeeding.

Elahi’s team found an additional benefit to vaccinations during pregnancy. Besides antibodies, small proteins called cytokines are also produced in the immunization process.

“Cytokines are very small molecules, signalling molecules that facilitate communication of immune cells with each other,” Elahi said.

“We have shown these cytokines are produced in the mom when they get vaccinated and they can be transferred via colostrum and milk into the newborn.”

There had been some question as to whether cytokines could handle interaction with a baby’s stomach acid, but the research showed they survived intact.

The U of A team employed animal models for the study, which found the pre-natal immunizations provided newborns with protection against whooping cough.

The work is published in the academic journal Infection and Immunity.

Elahi’s team is now working on a new study to determine if cytokines might have further benefits to babies, potentially in helping to ward off asthma and allergies.

DAVID BLOOM Shokrollah Elahi, an immunologist in the faculty of medicine and dentistry at the University of Alberta, has found that women who receive vaccinations during pregnancy may pass on the benefits to their unborn child.