INFLUENZA
•Pregnant women are at increased risk of influenza illness and its complications; so are their infants.
•Influenza vaccines are effective in preventing infection and reducing illness severity in the mother and the newborn. Influenza vaccines have been used for decades and their safety has been well documented. Communication strategies that encourage influenza vaccination is of utmost importance in order to promote its application.
•Pregnant women, highest priority group regardless of their stage of pregnancy, should only receive inactivated influenza virus vaccines, administered intramuscularly.
PERTUSSIS
Pertussis is a globally endemic disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, an extremely contagious bacterium that attaches themselves to the upper respiratory system and release toxins, which damage the tract and cause the airways to swell.
•Pertussis continues to be a public health concern, even in countries with high childhood immunization rates.
• The highest morbidity and mortality occur among young infants before they are old enough to receive pertussis vaccines. Thus, maternal immunization with acellular pertussis vaccine is the most promising strategy to prevent pertussis in infants too young to receive the vaccine. Cocooning is a strategy to protect infants through vaccination of their close contacts.
• A full review of the evidence identified no safety concerns with the vaccine for the mother, fetus, or newborn
HEPATITIS B
• The risk of transmission among infants born to hepatitis B-infected mothers is as high as 90%, with a 25% risk of premature death among the chronically infected (from liver failure or cirrhosis).
• Vaccination of the newborn starting with the first dose during the first 24 hours of life is the cornerstone for preventing perinatal transmission, followed by completion of the entire vaccination series.
TETANUS
•Neonatal tetanus can be prevented by vaccinating women of childbearing age before or during pregnancy with vaccines containing tetanus toxoid.
• Neonatal tetanus is common in newborn infants and their mothers when they have been inadequately vaccinated or are unvaccinated.
• WHO's goal is to eliminate neonatal tetanus worldwide.
