question about vaxes while pregnant

[raelize]

hi, i am about 6 weeks pregnant with my 2nd dc. my first is 2. we delayed her MMR shots until she was 2. but, seh just turned 2 and we were in the process of changing peds. i don't remember when i got my last MMR booster, but i think it has been past ten years. i wanted to get dd's MMR this month, but then found out that i was pregnant. if seh gets the MMR, is there a chance i could get it? should i wait until she is 3, or at least till after the birth? if i wait till then, is there a chance that the newborn baby could get it?

[newmommy27]

at least in CA checking Rubella titers is standard practice for early prenatal blood work...

I recently had a Rubella exposure and was able to call my doc and find out that my titers were high enough that it would not be an issue...

In the event you had the bloodwork done with your first you should be able to find out from your midwife or ob if you are at risk of exposure...

but honestly I would really research that vac and make an educated choice about whether it is necessary at all...

[ZoeyZoo]

MMR is a live virus vaccine so there is a chance it can spread. Both Rubella and chicken pox can cause issues to a fetus so I would avoid possible esposure to both as a precaution.

If it were me, I would put off MMR. You After researching the diseases I am a lot more comfortable with the though of my children catching mumps, measles, and rubella naturally. I am not comfortable with exposing a fetus to the diseases (especially rubella) during pregnancy. IMO the risk of hurting the fetus is greater than the risk of delaying the vax for your kids. This is not my call, it's your call. This is just my conclusion after researching vaxes for the last year.

You may want to check the vax forum and post/research there for more info.

[raelize]

no, i am sure i don't want to expose the fetus to possible rubella. i do plan on getting the MMR for dd, but will wait till after the baby comes. when that will be, who knows.

[Dov'sMom]

But you should still have your titers checked again. My sister's titers with #1 were fine, but 2 years later with #2 they were in the not-protected to borderline-protected range. Of course, her ob/gyn didn't bother telling her that so she could get a booster after #2; we only found out after she was exposed to my DS's rubella-like virus when she was 8 weeks pregnant with #3. : Turned out her titers had slipped completely, but DS didn't actually have rubella (though he had to have a very traumatic blood test (vomited from crying so hard) to find out).

[ZoeyZoo]

It is standard practice in many prenatal blood panels to check titres... even if you had a MMR recently.

IMO, if it were me, I would still avoid MMR and rubella as a precaution even if you are immune since the titres tests have some flaws to them...they're just the best test we have at the moment. There are no tests that can accurately check for immunity. Also, most of us have vax-induced immunity which can wane.