Pregnancy vaccination has a double benefit: it protects both Mum and Baby.

When a pregnant woman is vaccinated, she passes antibodies to her baby through the placenta. This helps to protect the baby from infection for the first few months of their life, until they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves.

For example, the whooping cough pregnancy vaccine is very effective at protecting babies from whooping cough. In a recent Australian study of over 250 000 pregnant women who were vaccinated against whooping cough, their babies were 70% less likely to get whooping cough in the first few months of life compared to the babies of mothers who didn’t have the vaccine in pregnancy.

If contracted during pregnancy, whooping cough can lead to insomnia, incontinence, broken ribs and a range of other painful complications.  By vaccinating for whooping cough during pregnancy, Mum receives important protection too – it’s a two-for-one deal!

The flu vaccine in pregnancy is also effective at protecting both mothers and babies from flu.  Research shows the risk of stillbirth is reduced by 51% in pregnant people who are immunised against influenza, and that babies were less likely to be hospitalised with influenza in their first year of life if Mum had a flu vaccine during pregnancy. 

Pregnant people who contract influenza are at a higher risk of hospitalisation and death than non-pregnant people, and are at increased risk of serious problems such as premature labour and birth.  Fortunately, influenza vaccination during pregnancy reduces these risks for both Mum and baby.

Getting a COVID vaccine during pregnancy helps protect the mother from serious illness, hospitalisation, and death from COVID-19, and also helps protect the baby from infection in the first few months of life.

Pregnancy vaccination is a win-win for both mum and baby, providing essential protection against serious diseases.