Pregnancy and Vaccinations:
What You Need Before, During and After
When you're preparing to have a baby,
part of your planning should include how
you will protect you and your child with
vaccinations, starting before birth.
"During pregnancy, vaccinated mothers
pass on protective antibodies — infec-
tion-fighting molecules — to their babies
before they are born," the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services says. "This
provides some immunity against certain
vaccine-preventable diseases during their
first few months of life, when your baby is
still too young to be vaccinated."
The first step is sharing your vaccination
history with your doctor. If you are unsure
about what vaccines you have received,
the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention offer a few tips:
Once you know your history,
you can stay up to date on
vaccinations before, during
and after your pregnancy.
What You Should Include
• Ask parents or caregivers for
records of childhood immunizations\
•Look through baby books and saved
documents from childhood
•Check with your high school and
college health services
•Check with previous employers
(including the military) that required
immunizations
•Check with your doctor or public
health clinic
•Ask your state health department if it
keeps immunization records
