Vaccination of the mother, fetus, and newborn is one of the most important factors in reducing preventable diseases and deaths. Vaccination protects the health of the mother and fetus while protecting the newborn from infections in the first six months.
It is known that vaccinations using inactive (dead) viruses or bacteria and toxoids during pregnancy do not pose a risk to the mother and the baby. In addition, there is no harm in vaccinating during the breastfeeding period.
Vaccination in pregnant women is usually done from the second trimester. The most important purposes of vaccination can be listed as follows:
- Congenital malformation of the fetus during pregnancy,
- Protection from infections that cause growth retardation, stillbirth, and neurological symptoms,
- Reducing preterm labor,
- Protecting the mother from more severe diseases during pregnancy (influenza, hepatitis B, etc.),
- Reducing neonatal infections.
Hepatitis B Vaccine
Surrogate mothers can infect their babies during birth. For this reason, the Hepatitis B vaccine and Immunoglobulin should be administered to babies of mothers who are carriers of Hepatitis B within the first 12 hours of birth. If pregnant women whose spouses are carriers of Hepatitis B have not been vaccinated until pregnancy, they should be vaccinated during pregnancy.
Influenza (Flu) Vaccine
The Influenza vaccine is a dead virus prepared according to the antigen formed each year. There is no adverse effect of getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy. In addition, the flu vaccine can be safely administered while breastfeeding. It is recommended that all expectant mothers who will spend the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of their pregnancy during the flu season get the flu vaccine.
Tetanus Vaccine
In the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, expectant mothers who have not been vaccinated before can be given two doses of tetanus vaccine, one month apart. A third dose can be given six months after the first vaccine. Pregnant women who have completed the tetanus vaccine series can be given a single dose if more than ten years have passed since their vaccination. Since tetanus that may develop in the newborn period will be fatal in 60%, tetanus vaccination is a very important factor for preventing the disease.
