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Vaccination can be a sensitive issue. Vaccine opponents and advocates are at times violent battles. What about vaccinations during pregnancy? One thing is certain: from a medical perspective, some are expressly recommended.
You cannot always plan a pregnancy and very few have an eye on the vaccination certificate. Tetanus and diphtheria need to be refreshed every ten years. So what if the vaccination protection expires during pregnancy? And what about immunization against seasonal flu or hepatitis B?
Generally speaking, vaccinations with live vaccines, including mumps, measles and rubella, are taboo during pregnancy. It is therefore advisable to check the vaccination status if you already have children and to consult the doctor. Dead vaccines, on the other hand, are allowed during pregnancy, provided that there is also a need. However, it should be avoided in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. The doctor should weigh the benefit-risk balance in early pregnancy critically.
What are the advantages of vaccination during pregnancy?
The vaccination recommendations for pregnant women take into account the so-called nest protection, which gives the child a certain immunity in the first months after birth. The child in the womb obtains this from the mother’s antibodies if it has been vaccinated or has undergone the disease.
These vaccinations are allowed
Flu: According to the vaccination recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO), healthy pregnant women should be vaccinated against seasonal flu from the second trimester. In individual cases such as certain underlying diseases, vaccination is recommended in the first trimester.
Tetanus and diphtheria should be given in combination with whooping cough. To protect the newborn from whooping cough, a triple or quadruple vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and polio (Boostrix Polio) is recommended in the last trimester of pregnancy. Because the mother is the most common source of infection for whooping cough.
Hepatitis A: Vaccination is allowed, but should only be done if there is a need. For example, if the pregnant woman is traveling and there is an increased risk. Hepatitis B may also be vaccinated during pregnancy if protection is not yet available.
Polio is considered harmless, but the vaccination should only be refreshed or given for the first time if there is a real risk.
Travel vaccinations such as typhoid or Japanese encephalitis should also only be given if it is really necessary and a trip to an endangered area cannot be avoided.
These vaccinations are taboo
Vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, yellow fever, chickenpox or cholera is not permitted during pregnancy.
In any case, pregnant women should take care to strengthen their immune system in order to avoid infectious diseases. Vitamin D can strengthen the immune system, because the sun vitamin is required for the development of the T cells that are involved in the defense against infections. Folic acid and vitamin B-12 can also support the immune system. The substances are combined in the Folio® products, which were specially developed for women who want to have children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Folio®forte (Phase 1, SteriPharm) with 800 µg folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 and with or without iodine is ideal for women who want to have children and pregnant women up to the 12th week of pregnancy. From the 13th week of pregnancy and until the end of breastfeeding, the switch to Folio® (phase 2) with 400 μg folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 with or without iodine.
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