Myassa Kjaerem
Senior Global Medical Advisor, MD. PhD.
Vaccination during pregnancy is crucial for protecting both the mother and the unborn child. Immunisations, such as influenza (vaccine against influenza) and Tdap (vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), help prevent diseases that can lead to complications like preterm birth and severe neonatal infections.
The placenta allows maternal antibodies to pass to the foetus, offering newborns passive immunity. This is particularly important in the first few months of life when the infant's immune system is still developing.
Furthermore, vaccination reduces the risk of maternal infection. Indeed, since to enable both tolerances towards the developing foetus and defence against pathogens, the maternal immune system changes gestation. These modifications can improve certain diseases (such as autoimmune diseases) but can also negatively decrease the mother’s immune system's ability to fight against pathogens.
Even though traditionally there has been an unwillingness to involve pregnant women in clinical trials due to ethical issues and the risk of exposing unborn babies to external factors, research and empirical data support the safety and efficacy of vaccines during pregnancy.
It is important though to underline the fact that inactivated vaccines and certain toxoid vaccines, may be recommended based on individual circumstances, however, live attenuated vaccines (such as MMR, varicella, zoster, oral polio vaccine, and yellow fever) are not recommended during pregnancy since these vaccines contain a weakened form of the live virus, which can theoretically pose a risk to the developing foetus throughout the whole pregnancy.
Finally, healthcare providers are experienced and the most informed on the appropriate vaccination types, vaccination schedules and guideline recommendations for everyone.