Vaccines for Pregnant Women
Vaccines you may need before, during, and after your pregnancy.
Vaccines can help protect both you and your baby from vaccine-preventable diseases. During pregnancy, vaccinated mothers pass on infection-fighting proteins called antibodies to their babies.
Antibodies provide some immunity (protection) against certain diseases during their first few months of life, when your baby is still too young to get vaccinated. It also helps provide important protection for you throughout your pregnancy.
To protect yourself and your baby, it’s important to understand which vaccines you may need before, during, and after your pregnancy.
TT Vaccinations
Tetanus or lockjaw is a serious bacterial infection that releases toxins which affect the nerves and brain, resulting in muscle stiffness. These bacteria exists in the environment like in the soil and anybody who gets wounded by the contaminated oil can develop this infection that affects the entire body and can even be fatal. So, getting your child vaccinated against tetanus is very important to ensure they do not get infected.
Importance of TT vaccine schedule
The tetanus vaccine, also called as the tetanus toxoid vaccine, is the best way to prevent children from being infected by tetanus. Ensuring the following of baby’s vaccination schedule is important to help immunise them. Usually, 5 doses of the TT vaccine are recommended during childhood and 6th during adolescence. It is recommended that one gets a TT shot every 10 years after that to keep the infection away.
If one is not up to date with their TT shots, a booster shot should be administered within 48 hours of an injury. In the case of pregnant women, tetanus immunisations are given to prevent neonatal tetanus.
Flu Vaccine
Influenza or flu vaccines protect your baby from infections caused by the influenza virus. Influenza outbreaks occur often and cause respiratory infections. These vaccines help to protect your baby and those around them from the flu. Since the virus changes almost every year, it is recommended that one gets the flu shot every year as the vaccine does not provide immunity for a long period.
Importance of the flu vaccine
All children who are over 6 months old should get this vaccination. This is because children below the age of 5 are at a higher risk of suffering from flu complications like high fever, convulsions and pneumonia. Regular flu shots are also recommended for children who suffer from chronic conditions like lung disorders or weakened immune system.
The flu vaccine is also suggested for pregnant women as well especially during the flu season. This is because an immunised mother usually helps to protect her baby against the flu for the first few months. The shot is safe for pregnant as well as breastfeeding mothers and is highly recommended too since babies below 6 months of age cannot get the shot and the antibodies from the mother get transferred to her baby through the breast milk.
Diphteria Petussis & TT
Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough are deadly diseases caused by bacteria. Diphtheria is a disease that causes respiratory problems, heart failure and paralysis while Pertussis causes severe coughing spasms that result in breathing difficulty in infants. Both these diseases are highly contagious and in serious cases, even lead to death. Tetanus is caused by bacteria that release toxins that attack the nervous system which results is muscle spasms and could even lead to death if left untreated.
DTaP and Tdap vaccines
For children below the age of 7, DTap is an important vaccine that must be given to help them develop immunity from these 3 deadly diseases. Tdap is the booster given when the child turns 11 to provide continued immunity from the diseases. The booster dose provides a boost to the immunity levels of the vaccines given earlier.
The Tdap vaccine is also recommended for pregnant women and is advised around the 27-36 weeks period of the pregnancy. This helps the mother to keep herself and her child safe from these deadly diseases.
Pregnancy Care
Each pregnancy is unique and you have the right to be involved in all decisions affecting you and your baby. A good relationship with your maternity care provider can make a big difference in planning your pregnancy care. At Fathima hospital, Department of Obstetrics includes a team of expert gynaecologists, foetal medicine Specialist, physiotherapists, and trained and experienced nursing staff. Our hospital is equipped with advanced neonatal care team supported by state-of-the-art NICU infrastructure to ensure that complex and high-risk pregnancies can be managed including extremely premature birthings.
Pregnancy Trimesters
At Fathima Hospital, we provide comprehensive consultations, lab testing, ultrasound scan to provide the best possible care during your 1st Trimister to 3rd Trimister. A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) to the birth of the baby. It is divided into three stages, called trimesters: first trimester, second trimester, and third trimester. The fetus undergoes many changes throughout maturation. A woman will experience many changes during the pregnancy like morning sickness, or nausea and vomiting due to pregnancy, at 6–8 weeks. A pregnant woman might also feel very tired and notice that she is more emotional than usual due to hormonal changes.
Types of Delivery
Few things in life are more exciting than the birth of a new baby. This has been the case throughout human history, but childbirth options for new mothers have advanced to make the experience more safe. Fathima hospital offers comfortable maternity suites that convert into state of the art delivery rooms. An easy birth and a perfectly executed birth plan is ideal. But we know that even the most carefully planned birth can take twists and turns. In those cases, it's important to be prepared for alternative delivery methods.
Pregnancy Scans
A range of tests is available if you are pregnant. These tests can confirm your pregnancy and also monitor your baby’s development in the womb. Regular check-ups with your gynecologist, fetal medicine specislists are an important part of pregnancy care, including information and advice about what tests you and your baby will need. Checking the general health of the mother and baby, the different kinds of tests available to pregnant women include: tests to confirm pregnancy, maternal health screening, routine screening tests (these tell you how likely it is that your baby has a certain health condition), diagnostic tests – for pregnancies at increased risk (these tell you more accurately if your baby has a certain health condition).
Pregnancy Complications
Complications can arise in pregnancies for many reasons. Sometimes a woman’s existing health conditions contribute to problems. Other times, new conditions arise because of hormonal and body changes that occur during pregnancy. They can involve the mother’s health, the baby’s health, or both. Some women have health problems that arise during pregnancy, and other women have health problems before they become pregnant that could lead to complications. It is very important for women to receive health care before and during pregnancy to decrease the risk of pregnancy complications. If you are receiving treatment for a health problem, your health care provider might want to change the way your health problem is managed.
High Risk Pregnancy
A high-risk pregnancy is one that threatens the health or life of the mother or her fetus. It often requires specialized care from specially trained providers. Some pregnancies become high risk as they progress, while some women are at increased risk for complications even before they get pregnant for a variety of reasons. Early and regular prenatal care helps many women have healthy pregnancies and deliveries without complications. A high-risk pregnancy may be one that involves chronic health problems, such as diabetes or high blood pressure; infections; complications from a previous pregnancy; or other issues that might arise during pregnancy. Treatment for high-risk pregnancy depends on the risk factors and overall health of the mother and fetus.
Vaccination
Ideally, women of child bearing age should be immunized before becoming pregnant to protect their babies against various diseases. Pregnancy should not deter a woman from receiving vaccines that are safe and will protect both her health and that of her unborn child. Extreme care has to be taken to avoid those vaccines that harm the unborn baby. Pregnant women who aren’t up-to-date on their immunizations may be susceptible to diseases that can harm them or their unborn child. If you’re pregnant, talk to your doctor about which vaccines you may need and whether you should get them now or wait until after your child is born.
Bad Obstetric History
Pregnancy loss is a frustrating and challenging problem for couples and clinicians alike. Miscarriage is often associated with guilt, embarrassment and depressive states. This is particularly true when the patient presents with subsequent pregnancy with added concerns of primary or secondary infertility, irregular menses, absent or irregular ovulation, a known history of uterine fibroids, a family history of miscarriage, advancing age, medical history and a prior history of pregnancy complications. It certainly warrants a detailed consultation and reassurance with a practitioner committed to pregnancy loss evaluation.
Ectopic / Tubal Pregnancy
Pregnancy begins with a fertilized egg. Normally, the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus. An ectopic pregnancy most often occurs in a fallopian tube, which carries eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. This type of ectopic pregnancy is called a tubal pregnancy. Sometimes, an ectopic pregnancy occurs in other areas of the body, such as the ovary, abdominal cavity or the lower part of the uterus (cervix), which connects to the vagina. An ectopic pregnancy can't proceed normally. The fertilized egg can't survive, and the growing tissue may cause life-threatening bleeding, if left untreated.
Multiple Pregnancy
A multiple pregnancy occurs when one egg (ovum) splits before implanting or when separate eggs are each fertilized by a different sperm. Identical twins or triplets occur with the fertilization of a single egg that later divides into two or three identical embryos. Identical twins or triplets have the same genetic identity, are always the same sex, and look almost exactly the same. Fraternal multiples develop from separate eggs that are each fertilized by a different sperm. Fraternal twins might or might not be of the same sex and might not necessarily resemble each other any more than two siblings from the same parents might.
Pregnancy Care
Your pregnancy is one of the most exciting times of your life. At Fathima hospital, we will help you enjoy the journey with the support of our expert team, in modern private surroundings.
Families have trusted us for generations at this special time, and we have an enviable international reputation for private maternity care.
Our expertise enables us to safely look after you and your baby, whether it is your first child, your third child, you are expecting twins, or if you or your little one has additional health needs. Whatever your situation, we have the right team to support you. Our packages have been devised with you in mind, to give you the time and attention you need to make the birth of your child as special as possible.
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Fathima hopsital - Maternity care facilities Process Chart
The best practices to ensure the that a mother gets utmost care during pregnancy and labor. Here is a list of our resources enabling to help you prepare for everything, from conception to delivery and beyond. Fathima hospital is fully equipped to comply with the maternity care Process chart.
Treatments and Procedures
The Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology has the capability and facilities to deal with a diverse range of cases and complexities in partnership with specialty services such as Foetal Medicine, Anaesthesia, Critical care, high risk, painless labour, Gynaecological surgeries for fibroid, prolapsed, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, Laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgeries
