GETTING READY – WHAT SHOTS DO I NEED?
Q: I want to be as healthy as possible before I conceive. What do I need to know about vaccines? A: Before your pregnancy, talk to your healthcare professional about your vaccine history and make sure you are up to date. This will help protect you and your baby. It’s very important for women who are thinking of starting a family to ensure they’ve been immunised against German measles before becoming pregnant. Rubella infection during pregnancy can cause babies to have serious birth defects with devastating, life-long consequences, or even die before birth. You can have a pre-pregnancy blood test to see if you’re immune to the disease. Immunisation against hepatitis B is also very important before pregnancy as a baby whose mother has hepatitis B is at increased risk of becoming infected during delivery. Talk to your healthcare professional about getting tested for hepatitis B. You should try get your immunisation schedule up to date before becoming pregnant, but that’s not always possible, so the ICPA advises that these two vaccines be administered during pregnancy if indicated: • During pregnancy you may get the flu vaccine to protect yourself and your baby from the flu. A pregnant woman who gets the flu is at increased risk for serious complications and hospitalisation compared to other adults. When mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, babies are also less likely to get the flu and serious flurelated complications like pneumonia after they are born. • Pregnant women may also get the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap). Mothers who have been vaccinated against these diseases pass their immunity, as antibodies against these infections, to their unborn child. These antibodies are vital to protect the newborn from whooping cough (pertussis) until they’re old enough to get vaccinated themselves. Whooping cough can be life-threatening for young babies. Mothers who have not received the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy should be vaccinated right after delivery. Those who spend time with the baby should also receive the whooping cough vaccine. YP