Vaccinations

Should I avoid them? Many — yes; others — no. It's best to wait until after your pregnancy for most vaccines, but a few are considered safe. Your doctor may say it's OK to get a vaccine if:

• there's a good chance that you could be exposed to a particular disease or infection and the benefits of vaccinating you outweigh the potential risks
• an infection would pose a risk to you or your baby
• the vaccine is unlikely to cause harm

However, the CDC recommends only these vaccines as safe during pregnancy if they're truly necessary:

• influenza (the flu) — but only the shot made with the inactivated virus
• hepatitis B
• meningitis
• rabies
• tetanus/diphtheria

What are the risks, if any, to my baby? Live-virus vaccines — those containing a live organism — aren't recommended for pregnant women because of the risk that the actual infection or disease the vaccine is meant to prevent may be passed along to the unborn baby. However, this depends on the circumstances and whether the vaccine would ultimately be safer to receive than being exposed to the actual disease. For example, the chickenpox vaccine may be safer to your unborn baby than getting the infection. So, it's important to speak to your doctor if you believe that you may have been exposed to a disease.

For the most part, though, researchers don't know what the risks of some vaccines may be to a fetus. So, it's wise to just wait to be vaccinated unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

What can I do about it? Be sure to talk to your doctor before getting any vaccination during pregnancy. It's also a good idea to inform your doctor if you became pregnant within 4 weeks of having a vaccine. And if your workplace requires certain vaccines, be sure to let them know you're pregnant before agreeing to be immunized.