From the moment you found out you were pregnant, you started protecting your baby. Maybe you changed what you ate, started a prenatal vitamin and researched car seats.
But did you know that you can protect your child by getting vaccinations against whooping cough and flu while you are pregnant?
Getting vaccines during your pregnancy provides your baby with some protection for the first months of life. This early protection is critical because infants in the first months of life are at the greatest risk from whooping cough and flu.
However, they are too young to be vaccinated themselves. Passing maternal antibodies on to them is the only way to directly protect them.
Passing the protection to your unborn baby isn’t the only reason to be vaccinated. Whooping cough and flu vaccines are also important for you, because you are the most likely person to spread whooping cough to your infant.
Once you have protection by getting the Tdap vaccine, you are less likely to give whooping cough to your newborn while caring for him.
To get a Tdap or influenza vaccine, call your healthcare provider or the Dallas County Public Health Department at 515-993-3750 or 515-465-2483.
