Guidelines for Vaccinating Pregnant Women

:cdc.gov

2013/06/24

529

Risk to a developing fetus from vaccination of the mother during pregnancy is theoretical. No evidence exists of risk to the fetus from vaccinating pregnant women with inactivated virus or bacterial vaccines or toxoids. Live vaccines administered to a pregnant woman pose a theoretical risk to the fetus; therefore, live, attenuated virus and live bacterial vaccines generally are contraindicated during pregnancy.

Benefits of vaccinating pregnant women usually outweigh potential risks when the likelihood of disease exposure is high, when infection would pose a risk to the mother or fetus, and when the vaccine is unlikely to cause harm.
CDC. General recommendations on immunization: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR 2011; 60 (No. 2): 26.

The table on the following page may be used to find the general rule for vaccinating a pregnant woman with a particular vaccine.
The third column of the table refers the reader to the page in this document where more specific information from the appropriate ACIP recommendations will be found.
Each quotation from an ACIP recommendation in turn references the entire document, where the quotation(s) may be found in context.

Vaccine		General Recommendation for Use in Pregnant Women	For More Information See text
Routine	Hepatitis A	Recommended if otherwise indicated.	See Hepatitis A text
	Hepatitis B	Recommended in some circumstances.	See Hepatitis B text
	Human Papillomavirus (HPV)	Not recommended.	See HPV text
	Influenza (Inactivated)	Recommended.	See Influenza text
	Influenza (LAIV)	Contraindicated.	See Influenza(LAIV) text
	MMR	Contraindicated.	See MMR text
	MCV4 (MenACWY)	May be used if otherwise indicated.	See Meningococcal text
	PCV13	Inadequate data for specific recommendation.	See Pneumococcal Conjugate text
	PPSV23	Inadequate data for specific recommendation.	See Pneumococcal Polysaccharide text
	Polio	May be used if needed.	See Polio text
	Td	Should be used if otherwise indicated.	See Tetanus and Diphtheria text
	Tdap	Recommended.	See Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis text
	Varicella	Contraindicated.	See Varicella text
	Zoster	Contraindicated.	See Zoster text
Travel & Other	Anthrax	Low risk of exposure – not recommended. High risk of exposure – may be used.	See Anthrax text
	BCG	Contraindicated.	See BCG text
	Japanese Encephalitis	Inadequate data for specific recommendation.	See Japanese Encephalitis text
	Meningococcal (MPSV4)	May be used if otherwise indicated.	See Meningococcal text
	Rabies	May be used if otherwise indicated.	See Rabies text
	Typhoid	Inadequate data for specific recommendation.	See Typhoid text
	Smallpox	Pre-exposure – contraindicated. Post-exposure – recommended.	See Smallpox text
	Yellow Fever	May be used if benefit outweighs risk.	See Yellow Fever text