OB/GYN Dr. Alison Baker often speaks with her patients about vaccines during pregnancy. “Vaccines are important because they do have a lot of good research behind them that they do show that they can not only help protect diseases for the mother when she is at an immune compromised state being pregnant, but also we do see a lot of them provide immunity to the baby as well.”

The Tdap vaccine can help protect against whooping cough. “When you first get the vaccine, the type of antibodies your body makes will cross the placenta and give immunity to the baby, and then will protect the baby for the first few months of the baby's life,” said Dr. Baker. “Even if you've already received the vaccine prior to the pregnancy, they still recommend going ahead and doing it again in the third trimester because it's those initial antibodies that give the protection.”

Dr. Baker recommends expectant mothers get the RSV vaccine if they’re pregnant during RSV season. “And the idea is to help protect the baby after birth for risk of RSV, which if you've ever heard of, can be very debilitating for babies. And so it's nice that we have this option.”

Even if you normally avoid the flu shot, “We know that ladies in pregnancies, immune systems are down, so if you get the flu it can usually be a more severe reaction and we've seen it lead to hospitalization at times. So even though you don't usually get the flu shot every season, it might be a good idea to consider getting it while you're pregnant in order to prevent that hospitalization risk,” said Dr. Baker.

Shots that can help protect you and your baby. Speak with your doctor about which vaccines are right for you and when you should get them.

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