The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) ---- "Immunization During Pregnancy,"

"The benefits of immunization to the pregnant woman and her neonate usually outweigh the theoretic risks of adverse effects. The theoretic risks of the vaccination of pregnant women with killed virus vaccines have not been identified."

Current recommendations for immunization of pregnant women are presented in Table 1. Although new information continues to confirm the safety of vaccines intentionally or inadvertently given during pregnancy, current information is subject to change because the effects of many diseases and vaccines on the pregnant woman or the fetus may be rare and infrequently reported. (For further information and updates refer to www.cdc.gov/nip.)

In the decision of whether to immunize a pregnant woman with other vaccines not listed in Table 1, the risk for exposure to disease and its deleterious effects on the pregnant woman and the fetus must be balanced against the efficacy of the vaccine and any beneficial effects resulting from it. Preconceptional immunization of women to prevent disease in the offspring, when practical, is preferred to vaccination of pregnant women with certain vaccines. Vaccination of women during the postpartum period, especially for rubella and varicella, should be encouraged. Women susceptible to rubella should be vaccinated with measles–mumps–rubella on postpartum discharge from the hospital.



April 28, 2003

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS PLACES ITS
GUIDELINES ON IMMUNIZATION DURING PREGNANCY INTO THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
Committee Opinion No. 282, "Immunization During Pregnancy," is
now available in the public domain. Originally published in
January in ACOG's journal, "Obstetrics & Gynecology," the
document reflects emerging clinical and scientific advances and
is subject to change because the effects of many diseases and
vaccines on the pregnant woman or the fetus may be rare and
infrequently reported.

The substance of the opinion document is a five-page table that
presents the following information about each immunobiologic
agent: Risk from disease to a pregnant woman and her fetus or
newborn; type of immunizing agent and its risk to the fetus;
indications for immunization during pregnancy; dose schedule;
and other comments.

To access a camera-ready (PDF) copy of the complete opinion from
the ACOG website, go to:
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/misc/bco282.pdf

To access an HTML copy, go to:
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/misc/bco282.cfm

To access the ACOG home page, go to: http://www.acog.org