Pregnancy and Vaccines

Did you know that a mother’s immunity is passed along to her baby during pregnancy? This protects the newborn baby for the first few months of life until the baby is old enough to receive immunizations. It is important to receive certain vaccines to protect both you and your baby!

Whether you are currently pregnant or planning a pregnancy, talk to your healthcare provider about recommended vaccinations.

Immunizations Before, During & After Pregnancy

The Immunization and Pregnancy chart below shows the immunizations needed before and during pregnancy to use as a reference when discussing with your healthcare provider.

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Vaccines you should talk to your healthcare provider about getting while pregnant include:

  • Flu vaccine (yearly)
  • Tdap vaccine (with each pregnancy)
  • COVID-19
  • Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV
    • RSV is a common respiratory virus that is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants. RSV vaccine is recommended for those who are 32-36 weeks pregnant during RSV season to provide protection against severe RSV illness in your baby and reduce baby’s risk of being hospitalized from RSV by 57% for up to 6 months of age.

Cocooning

Just as herd immunity protects our community, cocooning can help protect your baby. Cocooning is vaccinating everyone in close contact with your newborn to provide a cocoon of safety until your newborn can develop their own immunity. Many childhood vaccines are given in doses to build your baby’s immunity which leaves them more vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases in the first months of life. To best protect your baby, make sure you and all your family members including your teenagers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close family friends are up to date on vaccines. 

Also, ask any caretaker, nanny, or childcare center staff if they are up to date with their vaccines! By immunizing the village of people close to your baby against vaccine preventable diseases, you can help build a cocoon of protection around your baby.

Stay home if you are sick

Avoid close contact with sick people and wear a mask

Cover your nose and mouth
when you sneeze

Wash your hands often

Clean and disinfect

Stay up to date on your vaccinations