vaccinations in first trimester

[usmama]

Hi ladies, am keen to canvass opinion on this- there seems to be not much in the way of clear recommendation, and much disparity with what actually happens in real life.
My interest is this- I opted for flu vaccine at 8 weeks, and am now debating Hep A booster for travel to se asia at 10 weeks (prev had Hep A vaccine in 2009).
There's a real lack of guidance on this! (and I understand that of course evidence base will be sparse- who's going to do trials in the critical 1st trimester?)
Anyone had any recent experience of similar situations?

I wouldn't have anything u don't need.

You don't know what damage it can do to baby, I work with medication and need to wear gloves with some meds so wouldn't like to see what they are doing if taken xx

From what I understand any live vaccines are contraindicated during pregnancy due to theoretical risk of the virus passing through the placenta and infecting the fetus, though the risk is still slight. The hep a vaccine isn't a live virus, so wouldn't have that problem. I would still consult your doctor before having it, but from what I can find it looks like there's little evidence to say anything either way about it, but that any risk from dead vaccines is slim.

US official government advice on jabs during pregnancy is here.

Hi usmama. I'm currently travelling in SE Asia for 10 weeks and I'm 17 weeks pregnant (been here for 4 weeks). When I went to the doc's, who is normally pretty blasé about things, he said I couldn't have anything additional in terms of vaccines / maleria tablets and he was very insistent. Not helpful to you but I am lucky as I'd travelled to India 2 years ago so I'm still covered for hepatitis and typhoid.

Have you had a tetanus jab that still covers you? I think from advice below it sounds like you are given a strain of any virus when you have a jab so probably not best for babba. see what your Dr says and maybe ask a couple more to make sure you're getting the right info.

Just be uber careful when you're away and get a mozzie repellent that has Citronella in it rather than DEET.

Also I've got an oil from Avon called SSS that has been great at keeping the mozzies away.

Hope you have a great time! How long are you away for?

I found out I was pregnant when I was right in the middle of immigrating to the USA. I had to have hep B, flu and TDAP (tetanus, diptheria and pertussis booster). If I had needed a live vaccination, I wouldn't have been able to have it and would have been exempted by the immigration services here. I consulted with my OBGYN, the immigration doctors and checked the Center for Disease Control website (linked above) and in the end I am happy with the decision I made (I would have had to leave the country and be separated from my DH if I had chosen not to have the vaccinations). In the end it is a balancing act - what is the risk of the vaccine (not masses of evidence but probably enough to have an idea) vs. the likelihood and consequences of contracting Hep A. Depends a lot on what you'll be doing on your trip.