Why is DPT vaccination given during pregnancy?
This vaccine is given to pregnant women as it protects the baby from whooping cough immediately after birth. After vaccination, your body will have high levels of antibodies, which will be passed on to your baby, protecting him from whooping cough from birth until he can get his first vaccine. The earliest age at which a baby can be vaccinated is 2 months. More information about the infant vaccination schedule can be found in the childhood vaccination calendar.
Tetanus. Tetanus shot
Tetanus is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Clostridium tetani.
Since the time of Hippocrates, the connection between tetanus and previous wounds has been known.
Surprisingly, the microbe develops and lives in the intestines of many animals and humans without causing harm. With feces, the tetanus bacillus enters the soil, where, under unfavorable conditions (inappropriate temperature and humidity), it becomes covered with a capsule and “falls asleep,” forming spores. Tetanus spores can persist in the soil for years and are extremely resistant to environmental influences. Studies have shown that up to 80% of soil samples are contaminated with the tetanus pathogen, in manured soil - up to 100%.
When it becomes warm and humid, the spores turn into “blooming” vegetative forms.
In countries with limited seasons (for example, the tropics), the incidence of tetanus is year-round. In our region, tetanus is observed more often in spring and summer.
When the skin and mucous membranes are damaged, the pathogen enters the wound. The most dangerous are puncture and deep wounds, when the edges of the wound close, which stops the access of oxygen. Namely, oxygen-free conditions are most attractive to the tetanus microbe.
The incubation period is usually about 2 weeks, during which time the wound is often already closed and healing.
Tetanus is not an ordinary infection that causes an inflammatory process; rather, it is a bacterial predator that produces a powerful bacterial poison - tetanus toxin. This toxin acts primarily on the nervous system, causing generalized seizures.
Cramps are extremely painful. There is a spasm of the entire muscles, such a force that the patients bend in an arc, touching the bed only with their heads and heels.
Prolonged muscle tension leads to cardiac arrest and breathing.
Mortality from tetanus reaches 80% of the number of cases, even with the availability of modern treatment methods.
Immunity is not formed after suffering from tetanus, because While a small amount of tetanus toxin is sufficient for disease, it is absolutely insufficient for the formation of anti-infective defense.
The tetanus vaccine is based on the creation of a toxoid. Those. During special processing, tetanus toxin loses its pathogenic properties, while retaining the ability to form anti-infective defense in the human body.
The use of tetanus toxoid is considered extremely safe.
Mild systemic reactions, including fever, pain, and discomfort occur in 0.5-1% of vaccinated people. Acute allergic reactions are extremely rare, occurring in 1-6 cases per million doses administered.
Thanks to mass vaccination carried out in our country, the incidence of tetanus is reduced to isolated cases. Thus, in developed countries, the incidence of tetanus is 0.1-0.6 people per 100,000 population. However, in countries where mass vaccination is not carried out, the incidence is up to 50 people per 100,000 population.
In developing countries, where vaccine prevention is not at the proper level, the majority of cases of tetanus are newborns whose umbilical cord is tied under unsterile conditions. In such regions, WHO (World Health Organization) recommends double vaccination for pregnant women so that the fetus develops protection against tetanus in the prenatal period. The official WHO position on vaccination of pregnant women once again demonstrates the high safety profile of the vaccine.
In case of injuries, animal bites, burns, frostbite, childbirth or abortion outside of medical institutions, emergency tetanus prophylaxis is carried out. Depending on age and information about previous vaccinations, an additional dose of tetanus toxoid (tetanus vaccination) and/or tetanus immunoglobulin and tetanus serum are administered.
Routine vaccination against tetanus in the Russian Federation is recommended for children starting from 3 months of age as part of a complex vaccine.
You can read about vaccination against tetanus on our website in the article Modern tactics of vaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus.
When should you get the DPT vaccine?
The vaccination can be done at any stage of pregnancy, but the best time is considered to be between the 27th and 36th week. It takes about two weeks for your body to produce antibodies, so vaccinating in the third trimester will ensure that antibodies are passed on to your baby before he is born. If you are unable to get the DTP vaccine during pregnancy, talk to your doctor about whether you can get it immediately after giving birth, before leaving the hospital. It is also recommended to get a DTP vaccine during each pregnancy, since the protective functions of the vaccine in one pregnancy do not work during another.
Goals of vaccination
Immunization is a means of protecting against disease. The administered drug provides immunity against the pathogen, which makes a person invulnerable to a specific disease: diphtheria, influenza, tetanus and others.
Vaccinations for pregnant women are indicated for the following reasons:
- the expectant mother is susceptible to infections and does not tolerate them well;
- some infections directly affect the embryo, causing a variety of congenital pathologies, and vaccination protects the fetus.
Not all vaccinations are permitted during pregnancy. This issue, of course, is better to decide in advance, at the stage of pregnancy planning. But, unfortunately, we are not able to foresee all situations.
Do all close family members need to be vaccinated with DTP?
Yes, because the risk of contracting whooping cough from an unvaccinated person is higher for a baby. Everyone who will be in contact with the baby until he is one year old should have been vaccinated with DPT vaccine within the last ten years or at least two weeks before contact with the child.
The DTP vaccine will help protect you from diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. The same vaccination will protect your baby from whooping cough in the first two months of life, until he receives a separate vaccination.
Taking care of your baby begins with pregnancy. And when he is born, the hassle will increase noticeably, so it will be convenient for you to order the essential product - diapers - in advance at a favorable price.
Features of vaccination during pregnancy
Vaccination is carried out in sanitary conditions. It is advisable that the vaccination be done in a medical office. It is necessary to prepare in a certain way for this procedure. This is especially true for pregnant women, whose bodies are weakened and highly sensitive.
Before immunoprophylaxis, a pregnant woman is recommended to:
- undergo an examination to identify contraindications;
- change your diet in a couple of days (exclude highly allergenic foods);
- if you are prone to drug intolerance, start taking an antihistamine;
- have a good rest and sleep the day before the prevention.
Basic rules for vaccination during pregnancy:
- using only high-quality vaccinations with low reactogenicity;
- strict compliance with hygienic and sanitary requirements;
- organizing monitoring of a woman who has been immunized;
- measuring temperature and pressure before introducing antigenic material;
- strict adherence to the injection technique.
Are live antiviral vaccines contraindicated during pregnancy?
It was believed that pregnancy is a contraindication to vaccination with live viral vaccines due to the theoretical risk of virus penetration through the placenta and intrauterine infection of the fetus. Live virus vaccines include attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), and varicella, smallpox, and tuberculosis (BCG) vaccines. Current guidelines suggest that caution should be exercised when administering live viral vaccines during pregnancy. The US Advisory Council on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) does not consider vaccination to be an indication for termination of pregnancy [4, 5].
From 1979 to 1980 The CDC closely monitored the effects of RA 27/3 vaccine (live rubella virus vaccine) given to women within three months before or after conception; There are no data on the effect of the vaccine on the development of birth defects or congenital rubella syndrome [6]. Live attenuated polio vaccine was also well tolerated by pregnant women [7, 8].
When live viral vaccines (eg, rubella, chickenpox, OPV) were administered to pregnant women, there was no increase in the incidence of adverse events in the fetus or newborn. Some of these vaccines (eg, OPV, yellow fever) are indicated for pregnant women who are at high risk of exposure to infection.
The only live antiviral vaccine that is toxic to the fetus remains the smallpox vaccine. These vaccines should not be used in women of childbearing age without appropriate toasts confirming the absence of pregnancy, and should not be administered to family members of a pregnant woman.
Video on the topic
What vaccinations can and should be given to pregnant women? Answers in the video:
Thus, pregnancy is not a contraindication to vaccination against tetanus bacillus infection. But the manipulation should be carried out in the third trimester. In the early and late stages of pregnancy, vaccination can be harmful.
Doctors recommend immunization against infection with the bacterium Clostridium tetani during the period of planning conception. During pregnancy, they are vaccinated carefully, observing all the rules for preparing and carrying out the manipulation.
Rubella
When infected with the rubella virus in the first 4 weeks. During pregnancy, in approximately 50% of cases, the fetus develops congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). including blindness, heart defects, deafness and other developmental defects [13]. By the third trimester, the risk of developing CRS in the fetus decreases to 10%.
Rubella vaccine is a live antiviral vaccine. It should not be administered to pregnant women due to the theoretical possibility of exposure of the fetus to the live virus. However, there were no cases of CRS development in newborns whose mothers were unscheduledly vaccinated or became pregnant within 3 months. After vaccination All women of childbearing age should be screened for rubella antibodies. Most cases of CRS have been reported in newborns whose mothers were not screened or vaccinated despite medical supervision [14].
