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Day 194 of 280 · 27 weeks + 5 days

RSV season

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

Twenty-seven weeks and five days. Whether your baby arrives in RSV season decides which protection you ask about. Today you work it out.

Size this week
about the size of a head of cauliflower
Length this week
around 36.6 cm from head to heel
A Middle Eastern woman with a rounded 27-week bump in a cardigan at a clinic desk, talking with a smiling nurse, a paper calendar open between them, bright daylight.

Twenty-seven weeks and five days. Earlier this week was Tdap. Today is the other vaccine question of late pregnancy, RSV, and the answer depends on your due date and the calendar.

Your baby

One whole head of cauliflower with the leaves trimmed, on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 36.6cm from head to heel, about the size of a head of cauliflower (NHS). "Your baby's lungs are now capable of breathing," the NHS says (NHS). After the birth those lungs meet the world's germs, and RSV protection is about the first months of that.

Your body

The rules differ by country, so here are both. In the UK, the NHS says the RSV vaccine is usually offered around week 28, can be given until labour starts, and lowers your baby's risk of bronchiolitis (NHS).

In the US, the CDC's guidance is one dose of the vaccine Abrysvo between 32 weeks 0 days and 36 weeks 6 days, given seasonally from September through January in most of the continental US (CDC). Abrysvo is the only RSV vaccine used in pregnancy, and if you had a maternal RSV vaccine in a previous pregnancy you don't get another dose; the baby gets nirsevimab instead (CDC). The AAP adds that the maternal vaccine protects the baby for 6 months (AAP). Alaska, Puerto Rico and other places with different RSV seasons follow local timing (CDC).

Try today

  1. The RSV-season check

    Time: 10 minutes

    1. Write your due date and the date you'll be 32 weeks, five weeks from now.

    2. Check whether your baby is likely to arrive in RSV season, September through January in most of the US (AAP). In the UK, the NHS offers the vaccine around week 28 (NHS).

    3. Write down whether you had an RSV vaccine in a previous pregnancy (CDC).

    4. Take all three to your next visit and ask one question: "Which RSV protection is right for my baby: the vaccine for me, or nirsevimab for the baby?"

    Make it work:

    If the answer is "not yet," put the 32-week date in your calendar with "ask about RSV" next to it, so the question comes back on its own.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a blocked nose and snoring, both common around now (NHS).

    Call your provider right away

    if you have flu symptoms; flu in pregnancy is more likely to need a hospital stay, and the CDC recommends prompt antiviral treatment (CDC).

  • Normal

    getting out of breath more easily as the baby presses up toward your lungs (NHS).

    Get care right away

    for trouble breathing; the CDC lists it as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

  • Normal

    feeling your pulse after the stairs.

    Get care right away

    for chest pain or a fast-beating heart (CDC).

For you

One detail matters if the vaccine is given late: babies born less than 14 days after the maternal dose need nirsevimab (Beyfortus) (AAP). You don't need to manage that yourself. Just make sure the date of your dose is in your notes, so whoever looks after your newborn can see it.

Two vaccine questions in one week is a lot of paperwork for a body that's also growing a person. You don't have to decide anything today; you only have to ask.

If you're the partner: this is a good one to own. Find out the due-date math, write the question, and come to the visit.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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