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According to American Baby, here are the shots you should be thinking about.

Pre-pregnancy:

-Rubella vaccine (German measles). That's because up to 85 percent of babies of moms who contract it during the first trimester develop serious birth defects.

-Chickenpox vaccine. About 2 percent of babies of women who develop chickenpox during the first five months of pregnancy have birth defects. And a woman who develops chickenpox around the time of delivery can pass a life-threatening form of the infection to her baby.


Safe for baby:

-Flu shot. The CDC recommends a flu shot for all women who will be pregnant during the flu season (Nov - March). The flu shot is made of dead viruses, so it's safe for mom and baby. But avoid the FluMist, a nasal-spray vaccine made from live viruses.

-Tetanus/diphtheria. If you haven't had a Td shot in the past 10 years, get a booster. The vaccine is made with toxoids, so it's safe to get during pregnancy. Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is a disease of the central nervous system that causes painful muscle spasms and convulsions. If contracted during pregnancy, tetanus can cause fetal death.

Special situation shots:

-Hepatitis B. If you are a health-care worker or live iwth someone who has the disease, consider getting this shot. Hep B is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, nausea, fatigue and jaundice. A pregnanct woman can pass the infection to baby during delivery.

-Hepatitis A. This vaccine protects against liver disease that spreads through contaminated food or water. Not usually as serious as Hep B. the safety of this vaccine has yet to be determined so talk to your doc if you are traveling to a developing country or work in a laboratory with the virus to see if you should take it.

-Pneumococcal vaccine. If you have a chronic condition such as diabetes or kidney disease, your doc might recommend this one because it protects against some forms of pneumonia. Potential harm to an unborn baby is unknown but researchers believe the risk is low.

Once baby is born:

Women who are breastfeeding can get vaccinated according to a normal vaccination schedule.

The HPV vaccine that helps protect against cervical cancer is not recommended during pregnancy because studies haven't yet determined its safety for a developing baby.

Hmm...that all sounds pretty suspect to me. I've always heard and read, for one, that they will NOT give the Rubella vaccine while you're pregnant, although they check your immunity. They wait until after you deliver to vaccinate because they can't (or don't at least) give it while you're pregnant. In fact, according to the CDC, women should wait at least 28 days after rubella vaccination before getting pregnant. http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5049a5.htm
And flu shots, my OB at least recommends it only for women out of the first trimester Anyway, not sure about that info overall. And in light of the info on the other vaccine threads here, I for one would be extrememly wary of introducing all those additives, not to mention the vaccines themselves, into my body while growing a LO in there, especially during the first trimester when everything is so fragile. But I am very conservative in that way and do not take so much as Tylenol when I am pregnant.

And, according to the CDC the chickenpox vaccine can be dangerous for pregnant women (or rather, their developing fetuses) and that women should wait at least a month after vaccinateion before becoming pregnant.
Where in the world did American Baby get their info? Kristi, if you posted it correctly, then they are putting some very irresponsible misinformation out there.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/vac-faqs-clinic-preg.htm

LawMommy- I think Kristi just accidentally misquoted the article (regarding the rubella and chicken pox vaccine). American Baby recommends those vaccines prior to conception, not during pregnancy. I think I found the article she is talking about: http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/first-trimester/health...ncy-vaccines/?page=2

I'm pretty conservative, too when it comes to taking medications or getting vaccines when pregnant or breastfeeding. Something we think may be safe now could be found to be harmful later on. So, I feel like you should avoid meds, etc unless absolutely necessary. I took Tylenol and Tums just a few times when pregnant and breastfeeding. I did get the Hep B vaccine, though, because of the job I had at the time. It's a 3 part vaccine. I got the 1st 2 before I was pregnant and the 3rd one in my 2nd trimester.

The American Baby article says:
"Moms who are breastfeeding can get vaccinated according to a normal adult vaccination schedule."
I don't feel like they should make such a blanket statement like that when it has not been proven that all vaccines are safe when BF. I researched the chicken pox vaccine, since I've never had CP, and several sources I found recommend that you don't get that vaccine while BF.

Sarahmay, have you had the chickenpox titer test to see if you might actually be immune to it? I have read that many adults who think they haven't had it in fact just don't know that they had it very young and are immune nonetheless - so that the vaccine would be unnecessary anyway.
And I agree with you that we just don't know enough about the effects of some of the vaccines on unborn babies - they do not test medicines and vaccines on pregnant women because of ethical considerations. When I went back to school my son was still a baby and I was still breastfeeding. They wanted me to get an MMR booster and my doctor wrote a letter for me to avoid taking it, so it's definitely not a consensus that all is safe while BF-ing.

Thanks so much for your good eyes, guys. I did mean to say PRE-PREGNANCY for the rubella and chickenpox vaccines.
I'd hate to put incorrect info out there.
So THANKS! I have corrected it.