This news item expired on Monday, October 2, 2017 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
From the moment you found out you were pregnant, you started protecting your developing baby. You might have changed the way you eat, started taking a prenatal vitamin, or researched the kind of car seat you’ll buy. But did you know that one of the best ways to start protecting your developing baby against serious diseases is by making sure you get the whooping cough (Tdap) and flu vaccines while you are pregnant?
The vaccines you get during your pregnancy will provide your developing baby with some disease protection (immunity) that can last the first months of life after birth. By getting vaccinated during pregnancy, you can pass antibodies to your baby that may help protect against diseases. This early protection is critical for diseases like the flu and whooping cough because babies in the first several months of life are at the greatest risk of severe illness from these diseases. Newborn babies are too young to get the whooping cough or flu vaccines. Passing maternal antibodies on to them is the only way to help directly protect them.
In cases when doctors are able to determine who spread whooping cough to an infant, the mother was sometimes the source. Once you have protection from the Tdap shot, you are less likely to give whooping cough to your newborn baby.
When it comes to flu, even if you are generally healthy, changes in immune, heart, and lung functions during pregnancy make you more likely to have a severe case of the flu if you catch it. If you catch the flu when you are pregnant, you also have a higher chance of experiencing pregnancy complications, such as premature labor and delivery. Getting a flu shot will help protect you and your baby while you are pregnant.
You also can rest assured that these immunizations are very safe for you and your developing baby. Millions of pregnant women have safely received flu shots for many years, and CDC continues to monitor safety data on flu vaccine in pregnant women.
The whooping cough immunization also is very safe for you and your developing baby. Doctors and midwives who specialize in caring for pregnant women agree that the whooping cough vaccine is important to get during the third trimester of each pregnancy. Getting the vaccine during your pregnancy will not put you at increased risk for pregnancy complications.
You should get your whooping cough vaccine between your 27th and 36th week of pregnancy, preferably during the earlier part of this time period. You can get a flu shot during any trimester. You can get whooping cough and flu vaccines at the same time during your pregnancy or at different visits. If you are pregnant during the flu season, you should get a flu vaccine soon after vaccine is available.
Immunizations are a shield of protection for your child, your family, and your whole community. Getting your child or yourself vaccinated is easy. Call your medical provider or come to BCHHS Immunization Clinic located at 53 South French Broad Avenue in downtown Asheville (across the street from United Way). Our Immunization Clinic offers walk-in immunizations between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday-Friday; we ask that you please check-in by 4:30 p.m.). You can also call the BCHHS Immunization Clinic with questions at 828-250-5096.