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Day 204 of 280 · 29 weeks + 1 day

The vaccine checklist

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

Twenty-nine weeks and one day. Some vaccines in pregnancy protect your baby for months after birth. Today you list four and tick what's done.

Size this week
about the size of a butternut squash
Length this week
around 38.6 cm from head to heel
A woman with a full bump in a short-sleeved green top at a pharmacy counter, a pharmacist in a white coat facing her, a small plaster on her upper arm, bright shop light.

Twenty-nine weeks and one day. A newborn is too young for most vaccines, so the protection they start life with comes partly from you. Today is a short audit: which pregnancy vaccines you've had, and which to ask about.

Your baby

A single butternut squash on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 38.6cm from head to heel, about the size of a butternut squash, and due in about 11 weeks (NHS).

That's why the timing of vaccines matters now. The CDC says flu vaccination during pregnancy can protect babies for several months after birth, when they are too young to be vaccinated themselves (CDC). The AAP says the maternal RSV vaccine protects the baby for 6 months (AAP).

Your body

The CDC recommends two vaccines during every pregnancy: the flu vaccine, as the injection and not the nasal spray, and Tdap (CDC). Tdap can be given at any time in pregnancy but is best between 27 and 36 weeks, in each pregnancy, however recently you last had it (CDC). In the UK, the NHS says to have the whooping cough vaccine before week 33 if you haven't yet (NHS). For flu, the CDC says ideally by the end of October in flu season, though later can still help (CDC).

The AAP's list has four: Tdap, flu, COVID-19 in each pregnancy, and RSV during only one pregnancy (AAP). In the US, the RSV vaccine for pregnancy, Abrysvo, is given as one dose at 32 weeks 0 days through 36 weeks 6 days, from September through January in most of the country (CDC). You'll get a fuller note on RSV and on COVID-19 next week.

Try today

  1. The vaccine checklist

    Time: 10 minutes

    1. Write four lines: Tdap, flu, COVID-19, RSV (AAP).

    2. Check your records or patient portal and tick the ones you've had in this pregnancy, with the date.

    3. Next to Tdap, write "27 to 36 weeks" (CDC); next to RSV, write "32 to 36 weeks, Sept to Jan" (CDC).

    4. Circle anything not done, and take the page to your next visit to ask what's right for you.

    Make it work:

    For a flu shot at a pharmacy or workplace clinic, the CDC says you don't need special permission or written consent from your doctor (CDC).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a cold-season sniffle.

    Call your provider

    right away if you have flu symptoms; the CDC recommends prompt antiviral treatment in pregnancy (CDC).

  • Normal

    feeling hot, which is on the NHS's symptom list for these weeks (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC).

  • Normal

    some breathlessness on stairs (NHS).

    Call your provider

    right away for trouble breathing (CDC).

For you

Vaccine questions are ordinary questions, and you're allowed to ask as many as you need. The CDC notes that flu shots have been given to millions of pregnant women over more than 50 years with an excellent safety record (CDC). Your provider can go through the rest with you.

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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