23/03/2025
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that pregnant women get the flu vaccine during any trimester of pregnancy to protect both the mother and baby from flu-related complications.
The flu vaccine is safe for pregnant women and their babies. It's an inactivated vaccine, meaning it uses a killed version of the flu virus and cannot cause the flu.
Getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy helps protect the mother from getting sick with the flu and also provides some protection to the baby for the first few months after birth, when they are too young to be vaccinated.
The CDC recommends getting vaccinated as soon as the flu vaccine is available during flu season.
If you are pregnant, you should get the inactivated influenza vaccine (the flu shot) and not the nasal spray flu vaccine, which contains a live, weakened virus.
Studies have shown that flu vaccination during pregnancy can reduce the risk of serious flu complications, including hospitalization, for both the mother and the baby.
In addition to the flu vaccine, pregnant women should also get vaccinated against whooping cough (Tdap) and COVID-19, as recommended by the CDC.