Do pregnant mothers need vaccinations?

When you are pregnant, in order to avoid adverse effects on the fetus, you usually do not get vaccinated during pregnancy. Therefore, it is very necessary to get vaccinated before pregnancy. To prevent some infectious diseases, the best way is to get vaccinated. So, what vaccines are good before pregnancy? What should you pay attention to when getting vaccinated before pregnancy?

What vaccines should I get before pregnancy?

For example, congenital heart disease is a serious congenital malformation that brings great harm to the development of children and also brings heavy mental pressure and economic burden to the family. Is there any way to prevent the fetus from having congenital heart disease? The way is to get rubella vaccine. Although there are many factors that cause congenital heart disease, rubella virus infection is the main factor causing congenital heart disease.

Vaccine classification

At present, vaccines are divided into live attenuated vaccines, dead vaccines and genetically recombinant vaccines. Live attenuated vaccines are made from pathogenic microorganisms and their metabolites that are weak or non-toxic but highly immunogenic, and are cultured and propagated. They can provide long-term or lifelong protection. Pregnant women are advised not to use this type of vaccine. Dead vaccines are dead pathogens that have been processed. They use their antigenicity to induce an immune response in the body and produce protective antibodies. They must be injected repeatedly to provide long-term protection. This type of vaccine will not affect the fetus after vaccination, and pregnant women can be vaccinated with confidence when needed. Genetically recombinant vaccines are vaccines composed of partial gene fragments of the virus integrated into other microorganisms, allowing them to replicate continuously to produce the antigenic part of the virus. This type of vaccine can also make the body produce antibodies without adverse reactions to the body.

What vaccines should be injected before pregnancy?

When you are pregnant, in order to avoid adverse effects on the fetus, you usually do not get vaccinated during pregnancy. Therefore, it is very necessary to get vaccinated before pregnancy. To prevent some infectious diseases, the best way is to get vaccinated. So, what vaccines are good before pregnancy? What should you pay attention to when getting vaccinated before pregnancy?

1. Rubella vaccine

If a pregnant woman is infected with the rubella virus, 25% of rubella patients will suffer from serious consequences such as threatened abortion, miscarriage, and intrauterine fetal death during early pregnancy. It may also cause congenital malformations or congenital deafness in the baby after birth. The best way to prevent it is to get the rubella vaccine before pregnancy.

Injection time: at least 3 months before pregnancy.

Immune effect: The effectiveness is around 98%, which can achieve lifelong immunity.

2. Hepatitis A vaccine

Hepatitis A virus can be transmitted through water and food. During pregnancy, due to endocrine changes and increased nutritional requirements, the liver is burdened, the ability to resist viruses is weakened, and it is very easy to be infected. Therefore, women who often travel or eat out should get vaccinated before pregnancy.

Injection time: at least 3 months before pregnancy.

Immune effect: About 8 weeks after vaccination, a high level of antibodies can be produced, giving good immunity. A booster vaccination can be performed 3 years after vaccination.

3. Hepatitis B vaccine

Mother-to-child transmission is one of the important transmission routes of hepatitis B. Hepatitis B virus is transmitted vertically, passing through the placental barrier and directly infecting the fetus, making 85%-90% of fetuses carriers of hepatitis B virus at birth. Among them, 25% of patients will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer in adulthood. At the same time, hepatitis B virus can also cause fetal developmental deformities. Therefore, women of childbearing age can be vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine to prevent hepatitis and protect their fetuses from hepatitis B virus.

Injection time: Inject according to the sequence of 0, 1, 6. That is, starting from the first injection, the second injection is injected 1 month later, and the third injection is injected 6 months later. It is recommended to inject 9 months before pregnancy.

Immunity effect: The immunity rate can reach more than 95%, and the validity period is 5-9 years. If necessary, a booster injection can be given 5-6 years after the vaccination.

4. Varicella vaccine

Chickenpox infection in early pregnancy can cause congenital chickenpox or neonatal chickenpox in the fetus; chickenpox infection in late pregnancy can cause the pregnant mother to suffer from severe pneumonia or even death. Vaccination with the varicella-zoster virus vaccine can effectively prevent chickenpox infection during pregnancy.

Injection time: Vaccine should be given at least 3 to 6 months before conception.

Immune effect: can reach more than 10 years.

5. Flu vaccine

The influenza vaccine is a short-acting vaccine that can only protect against disease for about a year and can only prevent several types of influenza viruses. Pregnant mothers can choose according to their physical condition.

Injection time: If the first three months of pregnancy coincides with the influenza vaccine injection period, you can consider the injection. If you are pregnant, you should ask your doctor whether it is safe.

Immune effect: about 1 year.

In general, the vaccines that should be taken before pregnancy are mainly rubella vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, chickenpox vaccine, and influenza vaccine. Getting the vaccine before pregnancy is undoubtedly a good guarantee for pregnancy health.

What preparations should be made before pregnancy

1. Supplement folic acid Even if you have a balanced diet, it is difficult to ensure that you can get all the necessary nutrients from it. Folic acid deficiency is common in Chinese women of childbearing age, and this should be given full attention.

2. Say goodbye to tobacco, alcohol and drugs If you smoke or take drugs, please stop as soon as possible. Numerous studies have shown that smoking and drugs can cause miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight. In addition, studies have also shown that smoking may affect fertility and male sperm count. In fact, even secondhand smoke can affect your chances of getting pregnant.

3. Say no to caffeine. Studies have shown that consuming too much caffeine will hinder the absorption of iron and increase the risk of intrauterine fetal death. So it is best to give up caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, and cola.

4. Control your weight If your weight is within the normal range, your chances of getting pregnant will be higher.

5. Make an appointment with the dentist When you are preparing for your future baby, don't forget your oral health. There is growing evidence that periodontal disease (a bacterial infection that affects the gums and periodontal bone tissue) may lead to premature birth and low birth weight.

6. Check the family health history. You and your husband can call your parents and other relatives to find out whether anyone in your family has suffered from genetic or chromosomal diseases, such as Down syndrome, mental retardation, congenital birth defects, etc. When you go for a prenatal checkup, the doctor will also ask questions about this to determine whether you need a genetic test.

7. Do a pre-pregnancy check-up. A pre-pregnancy check-up can help you detect abnormalities before pregnancy, seek timely treatment and avoid potential problems. You can adjust your physical and mental state to the best state, and have a planned pregnancy under the guidance of a doctor to reduce birth defects and ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery.

8. Calculating your ovulation date and having sex around it can increase your chances of conception.

9. Say goodbye to birth control If you have been using birth control and want to have a baby, you should stop using it. If you use condoms or a diaphragm, just stop using it right away. But if you have been taking oral contraceptives, it is best to wait until you have at least one normal menstrual cycle after stopping the pill before getting pregnant. This principle also applies to women who use birth control patches and IUDs. It is important to remember that it may take several months for your menstrual cycle to become regular, but many women's fertility returns in the first month after stopping the pill. If you use hormonal injections, even if your menstrual period returns sooner after stopping the injections, you will need to wait a year until you are ovulating normally again before getting pregnant. After you stop using birth control, you can start tracking your menstrual cycles, which will help you understand your menstrual cycle pattern. Mark the specific days when your menstrual period starts and ends on a calendar, or circle the days of your period. This will help your antenatal doctor determine your fertile day and plan your prenatal checkups in the first three months.

How long in advance is it appropriate to prepare for pregnancy

It is recommended to prepare for pregnancy three months in advance. This is supported by certain scientific evidence. The reasons are as follows:

1. Because of the egg

A woman usually releases only one mature egg per month, and an egg can survive for about 48 hours after release, waiting to meet and combine with sperm during these 48 hours. However, many people don’t know that before an egg is released, it has to go through a long growth and development process: a healthy and high-quality egg needs an 85-day growth cycle.

There are 3-11 eggs that mature together, but in this process, after layers of selection, one or more dominant follicles can be discharged, and the rest will die and degenerate. This growth cycle takes 3 menstrual cycles. Therefore, during the growth and competition of these follicles, women who are preparing for pregnancy need to adjust their bodies in an all-round way.

2. Because of sperm

The egg needs an 85-day growth cycle, but what about sperm? Male sperm is produced in the testicles, and develops from spermatogonia into spermatocytes, and then into real sperm. The whole process takes a growth cycle of 72-90 days, which means that when sperm enters the female body, it is actually sperm that started to develop 90 days ago. This is why men need to prepare for pregnancy three months in advance, stay away from tobacco and alcohol, and increase exercise.

3. Because cells metabolize harmful substances in the body

Three months is also a cycle for cells to metabolize harmful substances in the body. Any drugs, toxic substances, adverse factors, etc. that affect reproductive cells should be completely eliminated and disappeared in the body before reproducing a child. For example: conceiving after quitting smoking and drinking for three months, etc.

Non-smokers have a greater chance of conceiving than smokers. Smoking not only affects physical health, but also fertility. Therefore, men and women who are preparing for pregnancy are advised to quit smoking.

4. Because of folic acid

As we all know, a standard dose of 0.4 mg of folic acid can prevent neural tube defects in the fetus. However, due to the dietary habits of Chinese people, Chinese women generally lack folic acid, and changing this folic acid deficiency will not be effective in a day or two. Moreover, in real life, most women know they are pregnant after more than 30 days of pregnancy. At this time, supplementing folic acid has missed the critical period for preventing neural tube defects.

Therefore, the Chinese Nutrition Society recommends taking folic acid from 2 to 3 months before pregnancy and continuing until the third month of pregnancy or the entire pregnancy. In addition to preventing neural tube defects, it is also beneficial to reduce the risk of hyperlipidemia in pregnancy. In addition, insufficient folic acid will reduce the concentration of semen and may also cause abnormal chromosome separation in sperm, which will bring the possibility of serious diseases to the future baby. Therefore, it is best for men and women who are preparing for pregnancy to start supplementing folic acid 3 months before pregnancy.

To sum up the above, there is still scientific basis for preparing for pregnancy three months in advance. However, it does not mean that it is necessary to prepare three months in advance, nor does it mean that getting pregnant without preparing three months in advance is bad for the fetus. After all, "plans cannot keep up with changes."