Recommended Vaccinations Before Pregnancy

When planning a pregnancy, you  need to adapt your habits to the new needs of the body, so that this is a welcoming environment for the new life. Not only that, but it is necessary to take some precautions useful for the future development of the fetus. A series of vaccinations recommended before pregnancy also fall within this discourse.

Before pregnancy it is recommended to visit specialists. They will help us to ensure that our organism is in the best conditions to procreate. Among the advice these can give us, there are also some recommended vaccinations before pregnancy.  

The opportunity to do them is evaluated through a small blood test, which will tell us if we need any vaccines to prevent possible diseases during gestation. Furthermore, vaccinations can  be an aid in the process of conception, because it predisposes the immune system to receive male gametes, which are considered a foreign element.

Similarly,  the role of vaccines is to add to the body’s defenses to fight viral infections,  which launch their attack in the face of an event that weakens it. In this regard, the reception and permanence of the genes belonging to the father must go through an adaptation process that involves additional efforts on the part of the immune system.

What are the recommended vaccinations before pregnancy?

Any woman who is trying to have a baby should make herself available to a specialist  who can tell her what vaccinations are recommended before pregnancy. It is possible that some immunizing substances may be given when the pregnancy is already in an advanced state. However, those that involve the inoculation of an active virus should not be given to pregnant women.

The following are the most important vaccines that are recommended to be injected at least six months before pregnancy.

• It is recommended to  give priority to rubella vaccination and trivalent MMR  (measles, mumps, rubella). The latter must be updated; that is, the second dose must be different from the one that was given the first time.
• Rubella vaccination should be reinforced  one month after it has been inoculated.
• Other recommendations concern immunization against the  most common viruses, such as those of hepatitis A and B and chicken pox.
• DPTa is the vaccination that provides  protection from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. It is recommended if more than ten years have passed since the last recall received from the future mother.
• If a woman plans to become pregnant  sometime close to the spread of the flu, a vaccine against this disease may also be recommended .

What are the risks in the absence of vaccination?

That some vaccines cause side effects in people who receive them is completely normal. Equally normal is that you may experience symptoms similar to those produced by the disease being treated. However,  there is a social debate on the serious long-term effects that vaccines can cause, especially in children. The risks of missing a vaccination, however, tend to be much greater.

In this sense,  many people have decided to avoid the administration of vaccines, arguing that they are not necessary  and that they do not offer guarantees on their effectiveness. Furthermore, in some cases, there are those who believe that the side effects could be more serious than the diseases they intend to prevent.

Nonetheless,  specialists explain that vaccination represents a responsibility towards the health of the future baby and the mother herself. This practice prevents potential harm to their well-being. For this reason,  an unvaccinated woman will face a pregnancy exposed to a greater number of risks, which, even if they may not occur, make her more vulnerable.

If the pregnancy begins without these precautions being taken, the mother will have to be extra careful not to expose herself too much to danger, avoiding contact with any viral agent, which could be hiding anywhere. Similarly,  there are cases in which the work situation exposes the future mother more strongly  to various viruses, as happens, for example, to those who work in education and health.

It is equally important to know the vaccination status of the partner.  It is possible, in fact, that a contagion on its part could put the pregnant woman at risk. Likewise, he has to pay attention to his likelihood of being infected with a virus, due to his work situation.

Not being vaccinated poses a risk to our health and that of the whole community.  It is thanks to vaccination that it is possible to slow down the propagation of many viruses. It is necessary to understand that prevention is fundamental, because we do not have the possibility of knowing when we will be exposed and defenseless.