Immunizations (vaccines) can help keep you and your growing family healthy.
A mother’s ability to fight off disease is passed along to her baby during pregnancy. This protects the baby from some diseases during the first months of life until the baby can get vaccinated.
Before becoming pregnant, talk to your doctor about immunizations you may need, including:
The HPV vaccine is recommended for females ages 9 to 26 years old. If you find out you are pregnant after you have started getting the 3-dose vaccine series, you should wait until your pregnancy is over before finishing the series.
Live vaccines (including MMR and varicella) should be given a month or more before you try to get pregnant. Inactivated (killed) vaccines (including Td or Tdap) can be given before or during pregnancy, as needed.
It is now recommended that all pregnant women get the Tdap vaccine between 27 and 36 weeks of each pregnancy.
If you aren’t able to get them before or during pregnancy, some vaccines may be given to you after your baby is born.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Reviewed by: Jeff Convissar, MD, November 2015
Additional Kaiser Permanente reviewers
© 2015 Kaiser Permanente
