HEALTHIER YOU: Vaccinating while pregnant?

Vaccinating while pregnant?

BY DR. ANNETTE MAYES, OB/GYN

Every woman who is considering pregnancy should be up-to-date on all of her vaccines. It helps to protect you and your child from serious diseases.

For example, rubella is a contagious disease that can be very dangerous if you get it while you are pregnant. In fact, it can cause a miscarriage or serious birth defects. Best protection against rubella is MMR (Measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine — but if you aren’t up-to-date, you’ll need it before you get pregnant.

Make sure you have a pre-pregnancy blood test to see if you are immune to the disease. Most women received the MMR vaccination as children, but you should confirm this with your doctor. If you need to get vaccinated for rubella, you should avoid becoming pregnant until one month after receiving the MMR vaccine — and, ideally, not until your immunity is confirmed by a blood test.

Did you know that your baby gets disease immunity from you during pregnancy? This immunity will protect your baby from some diseases during the first few months of life, but immunity decreases over time.

You probably know that when you are pregnant, you share everything with your baby. That means when you get vaccines, you aren’t just protecting yourself — you are giving your baby some early protection, too. The Centers for Disease Control recommends you get a whooping cough and flu vaccine during each pregnancy to help protect yourself and your baby.

For additional information, contact the Las Vegas All Women’s Care Offices at (702)522-9640. Or visit us at 700 Shadow Lane No. 165 (1st floor) in Las Vegas.