Does vaccination affect pregnancy?

Simply put, a vaccine is a type of medicine that is injected into the body to protect against disease. There are many types of vaccines that people can receive in their daily lives, such as rabies vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, influenza vaccine, etc. In short, there are many types of vaccines. However, vaccination also requires certain conditions. For example, you cannot be vaccinated when you feel unwell. So, does vaccination affect pregnancy?

Vaccines can increase human immunity and are divided into many categories, including toxoid vaccines, inactivated virus vaccines, immunoglobulin preparations, viral and bacterial vaccines. Vaccines other than live virus or live bacterial vaccines are generally considered safe for pregnant women. Nevertheless, since there is no certainty that the vaccine poses no risk to fetal development, if vaccination is not needed immediately, it is recommended to wait until after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

There have been no reports of fetal malformations in cases of pregnancy within 1 month after immunization with measles, rubella, mumps combined live attenuated vaccine, varicella vaccine, or yellow fever vaccine. Therefore, there is no need to choose abortion if these vaccines are given without knowing the pregnancy, nor is there any need to delay conception after receiving toxoid, inactivated virus vaccines, or immunoglobulin preparations.

The United States recommends that all pregnant women (regardless of gestational age) should receive influenza vaccination during the peak influenza season (October to May of the following year). If a pregnant woman has other diseases (such as asthma, heart disease), the complications will be aggravated when she is infected with influenza. It is recommended to get vaccinated before the peak influenza season. The injected influenza vaccine can be used at any time during pregnancy, but the live attenuated vaccine is a nasal spray and is not recommended for use by pregnant women. After influenza vaccination, it takes 2 weeks for the body to build up protective antibodies, which are protective for pregnant women and babies within 6 months of birth.