Why you need vaccinations before, during and after pregnancy
If you’re pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, vaccination is an important way to protect yourself and your baby.
Vaccination can help to prevent infection. It can also reduce the seriousness of your symptoms if you do get infected. You can read more about how vaccination works to prevent infection and serious illness.
Vaccination during pregnancy can also protect your baby from some infections in the early months of life. This protection is important until your baby is old enough to be vaccinated themselves.
Is vaccination safe before and during pregnancy?
Certain vaccinations are recommended at certain times before, during and after pregnancy.
Vaccination at these times is safe for you and safe for your baby.
It’s best to talk about vaccination with your GP, midwife, obstetrician, child and family health nurse or immunisation provider. Talking with one of these professionals is particularly important if you have a weak immune system or you miss getting vaccinated at a recommended time.
What vaccinations to have before pregnancy and when
If you’re planning to get pregnant, it’s a very good idea to talk about vaccination with your GP or immunisation provider. They can answer questions and give you the most up-to-date information about vaccination and pregnancy.
Vaccinations to have before pregnancy
It’s important to be fully vaccinated against the following infectious diseases before you get pregnant:
You should avoid getting pregnant for one month after vaccinations for these diseases.
Pre-pregnancy vaccination for these diseases is important because these diseases can harm unborn babies. But vaccination against them during pregnancy isn’t recommended.
Other vaccinations recommended before pregnancy
It’s best to be fully vaccinated against the following diseases before pregnancy too:
- COVID-19
- hepatitis B.
It’s also OK to have these vaccinations while trying to get pregnant.
To find out where you can get vaccinated, use Healthdirect’s service finder. You can also check your state or territory government or health website.
What vaccinations to have during pregnancy and when
If you’re pregnant, it’s a good idea to speak with your GP or immunisation provider about your immunisation status.
The following vaccinations are recommended and free for pregnant women. They protect you during pregnancy and also protect your baby. You should have these vaccinations for each pregnancy.
Whooping cough vaccination
It’s recommended that you have the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine at 20-32 weeks of pregnancy. This vaccine is given in a combined vaccine that also protects against tetanus and diphtheria.
If you’re vaccinated against whooping cough during pregnancy, your baby will share your antibodies. These antibodies protect your baby in their first months of life before they’re old enough to be vaccinated themselves. This is when your baby is most at risk from whooping cough and its complications, which include severe pneumonia and apnoeas (pauses in breathing).
Influenza vaccination
You can have the flu vaccine at any time during pregnancy. If your pregnancy goes into a new flu season, it’s recommended that you have a second dose.
The flu vaccine helps to protect you from flu and its complications like hospitalisation and premature birth. It can also protect your baby in their first months of life, when they’re most at risk from flu and its complications.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination
It’s recommended that you have the RSV vaccine at 28-36 weeks of pregnancy. You get it in a single dose.
If you’re immunised against RSV in pregnancy, your baby gets antibodies that protect them from RSV. This can help to protect your baby in their first months of life, when they’re most at risk of serious complications from RSV and hospitalisation. Complications from RSV include bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
COVID-19 vaccination
You can have a COVID-19 vaccine at any time during pregnancy.
COVID-19 vaccination is recommended if you’re pregnant and you haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 before.
Many vaccines are free through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) if you have a Medicare card. But some immunisation providers might charge a fee for giving you the vaccine. You can ask your provider about any costs before your appointment.
What about vaccination when you’re breastfeeding?
You can get recommended vaccinations while breastfeeding.
These might include vaccinations you couldn’t safely get during pregnancy, like measles, mumps, rubella or chickenpox vaccination. Depending on the time of year, you might also get vaccinated against the flu.
Most vaccines are safe for you and your baby, and vaccination won’t affect the volume or quality of your breastmilk.
Childhood immunisation helps to protect your baby from infectious diseases that can make children very sick or even kill them. To be fully protected against some diseases, your child might need to be vaccinated several times at different ages, starting from birth.
Vaccines, vaccination and immunisation: what do these terms mean?
You might hear the terms vaccine, vaccination and immunisation:
- A vaccine helps to protect you from a disease. It’s a medicine.
- Vaccination means getting the vaccine, usually through injection.
- Immunisation means both getting the vaccine and being protected from the disease.
Most people use ‘vaccination’ and ‘immunisation’ to mean the same thing, although they’re not quite the same.
It’s good if your partner, other children and close family members are up to date with immunisation before meeting your baby. This includes being vaccinated against whooping cough.