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Many pregnant people are focused on protecting the health of themselves and their babies by seeking out trusted healthcare providers and activating support networks of friends and family. One important protection pregnant people can consider for themselves and their little ones is getting recommended vaccinations. Getting recommended vaccinations during pregnancy can be an important — and empowering — way to help protect the health of both pregnant people and their babies. It is important for pregnant people and their support networks to revisit the benefits of vaccination during pregnancy. Here are three reasons to consider:
- About two weeks after a pregnant person gets a vaccination, their body creates antibodies (proteins that fight off diseases), and those antibodies can be passed on to babies. These antibodies increase protection, for both the pregnant person and their baby, against severe illness and complications caused by some infectious diseases, like whooping cough.
- Pregnant people are at higher risk for having severe complications from infectious diseases (like flu) than people who are not pregnant. This may be due to changes in pregnant people’s immune system and heart and lung functions. Vaccination helps increase protection for pregnant people.
- Newborns do not have fully developed immune systems when they are born. Vaccination during pregnancy increases protection for newborns until they are old enough to receive their own vaccinations.
Vaccination during pregnancy is one of many important parts of prenatal care. Healthcare providers can answer important questions pregnant people may have about which vaccines are recommended for them and why. Healthcare providers can also help pregnant people consider how vaccination fits into their overall prenatal care plan by discussing when vaccinations are recommended throughout their pregnancy.
Talk to a trusted healthcare provider about vaccination during pregnancy. Learn more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the benefits of vaccination during pregnancy at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/vacc-during-after.html.
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