Čes-slov Pediat 2025, 80(Suppl.1):14-18 | DOI: 10.55095/CSPediatrie2025/021

The role of a pediatrician in vaccinating the pregnant

Hana Cabrnochová

Očkovací centrum pro děti, Pediatrická klinika, 1. lékařská fakulta, Univerzita Karlova a Fakultní Thomayerova nemocnice, Praha

The benefits of vaccinating pregnant women clearly outweigh the risks that threaten both mother and child if they fall ill with an infectious disease. Vaccination during pregnancy is beneficial not only for the mother, but also for the newborn, who receives protection from

the mother through maternal antibodies. Newborns and infants are thus protected until they are vaccinated themselves. Vaccination against influenza, pertussis,

covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is indicated for all pregnant women. Influenza vaccination effectively prevents infection in pregnant women as well as in their newborns and infants through the transmission of

maternal antibodies. All women should be vaccinated against influenza during every pregnancy in order to protect the woman, pregnancy and child in the first months of life. Pregnant women should also be vaccinated with the

covid-19 vaccine for that season during any trimester of pregnancy, regardless of gestational age. Like the flu vaccine, vaccination protects both the pregnant woman and her

baby. The timing of vaccination can be adapted to the current situation of community spread of the SARS CoV 2 virus in the population. Vaccination against pertussis during pregnancy reduces the risk of the disease for the pregnant woman, but above all it effectively protects the child in the first months of life. After birth, the child is protected by maternal antibodies against a severe course

of the disease during the most critical period of the first two months of life, when it cannot yet be vaccinated. In the case of RSV vaccination, the vaccinated woman is actively immunized and newborns and infants are also passively immunized and can receive protection against RSV infection from birth until 6 months of age.

The pediatrician, who will become the future registering physician and

who may also take care of siblings, should be one of those who explains the risks of specific diseases and may even be involved in the vaccination of pregnant women. Thanks to the possible sharing of data on vaccinations performed in the electronic system from 2023, the argument of unavailable information in the case of vaccination for other healthcare professionals is eliminated.

Keywords: vaccination of pregnant women, covid-19, influenza, pertussis, respiratory syncytial virus infection

Accepted: April 10, 2025; Published: August 1, 2025  Show citation