Navigating Pregnancy and the Flu

When should you get a flu shot, and does your baby need more than one? Here’s everything parents need to know to protect themselves and their babies during the 2019 flu season.

“The flu can be serious for everyone, but the elderly, pregnant women, and babies are at a greater risk of developing serious complications from the flu.” -Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The influenza vaccine helps protect you and your baby against the flu and complications from the flu. Current guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that

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babies don’t receive the vaccine until they’re 6 months old. There are other important steps you can take during pregnancy and once your baby is born to help keep you both safe. “When a pregnant woman is vaccinated against the flu, her immune system will make antibodies which can cross the placenta and provide antibodies for the baby after birth.

Getting your flu shot during pregnancy will give your newborn baby some protection with the antibodies that you yourself generated.” – Dr. Adalja.