Can pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers get vaccinated against influenza: a doctor's answer
Kyiv • UNN
The WHO recommends that pregnant women receive an inactivated influenza vaccine in any trimester. The vaccine also protects the infant after birth.
Autumn is the period when the incidence of acute respiratory infections begins to rise. Changes in weather conditions and shorter daylight hours, people spending more time indoors, and inadequate ventilation of homes due to the drop in air temperature—all of this creates favorable conditions for viruses to circulate and contributes to weakened local immunity (drying of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat). As a result, they perform their protective function less effectively, allowing viruses to enter the body more easily and cause seasonal infectious diseases, one of the most dangerous of which is influenza, writes UNN.
The best time to get vaccinated against influenza is before the peak incidence of acute respiratory viral infections.
Usually, the influenza vaccination period begins in September–October. However, if patients did not manage to get vaccinated within the aforementioned period, they can still do so later, throughout the entire period of virus circulation. Revaccination is carried out once a year because the influenza virus constantly mutates, and the composition of vaccines is updated annually in accordance with the projected strains.
Particular attention should be paid to influenza prevention among pregnant women and women who have recently given birth and are breastfeeding. A number of physiological changes that occur in a pregnant woman’s body make them more vulnerable to severe disease and increase the risk of complications
Do pregnant women need to be vaccinated against influenza?
"Absolutely yes!" the doctor says.
According to WHO recommendations, pregnant women belong to the priority groups for influenza vaccination. According to a study by the CDC (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), influenza vaccination during pregnancy reduced the risk of hospitalization due to influenza by an average of 40%.
Vaccination is safe for both the expectant mother and the child
Vaccination during pregnancy is completely safe because only inactivated vaccines, which do not contain live virus, are used. Such vaccines may be administered during any trimester of pregnancy, even at a very early stage
In addition, according to the doctor, special attention should be paid to the fact that vaccination during pregnancy protects not only the woman but also the future newborn child.
After vaccination, antibodies are formed in the mother’s blood, protecting her body from developing the disease. These same antibodies enter the child’s body through the placenta via the bloodstream and continue circulating in the infant’s body after birth, providing passive immune protection during the first months of life. And since children can be vaccinated against influenza from the age of 6 months, your baby will be protected until then
Mothers who are breastfeeding can also get vaccinated against influenza
Yes! Breastfeeding is not a contraindication to influenza vaccination. It is safe for both the mother and the infant, again because an inactivated vaccine that does not contain live virus is administered. Vaccination does not negatively affect the quality of breast milk and does not require a temporary interruption of breastfeeding or expressing milk in advance of vaccination. Antibodies produced in the mother’s body after vaccination partially pass into breast milk and provide additional immune protection for the child
The influenza virus poses significant risks to the health of the woman and the fetus
Influenza during pregnancy poses a significant threat, the doctor explains, because the immune, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems operate under increased strain.
A pregnant woman becomes significantly more vulnerable to a severe course of the disease, with a considerably higher risk of complications. After entering the human body, the virus rapidly spreads throughout the body, the protective barrier of the respiratory tract’s mucous membranes breaks down, creating favorable conditions for the subsequent attachment of bacterial pathogens—pneumococcus, staphylococcus, etc. Speaking about the risks directly for a pregnant woman, these may include complications such as pneumonia and respiratory failure, as well as exacerbation of existing chronic diseases, such as asthma or cardiovascular disease
According to her, the high fever and intoxication that most often accompany influenza cause dehydration, which negatively affects the woman’s general condition and disrupts placental blood flow.
There is a threat of impaired placental function and, as a consequence, this may cause oxygen deprivation in the fetus (hypoxia), intrauterine growth restriction, and the risk of premature birth. Infection with the influenza virus is especially dangerous during the first trimester, before 12 weeks of pregnancy
This is explained by the fact that it is during this stage of pregnancy that the main process of laying down all the organs and systems in the fetus takes place.
High fever and intoxication can negatively affect these processes and cause the development of congenital defects in the fetus (neural tube defects, anterior abdominal wall defects, heart defects, etc.) or even lead to spontaneous miscarriage
The doctor emphasized the dangers of self-medication, since, while trying to reduce their fever or treat other flu symptoms on their own, pregnant women often begin using vasoconstrictor drops or anti-inflammatory medications. These drugs increase the risk of fetal abdominal wall defects during the first trimester.
The best decision is to immediately contact the obstetrician-gynecologist with whom you are registered, or a family doctor/therapist, at the first symptoms of a cold so that appropriate treatment can be prescribed based on your stage of pregnancy and clinical presentation
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