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Will baby get vaccine's protection through breast milk?

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TBO.com

Published: November 12, 2009

Q. I am eight months pregnant. If I wait to have the flu shot until after the baby is born will he receive immunity through my breast milk?

- Dawn, Tampa

Q. If I am breast feeding and I get the vaccine, will I pass the immunities to the baby through the breast milk?

- Candace, Tampa

A. Pregnant women are in the high-risk group and should be vaccinated anytime during the pregnancy. Do not wait until your baby is born to get vaccinated, the Hillsborough County Health Department advises.

Both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu vaccines should be given to breastfeeding mothers and breastfeeding women can receive either the shot or the nasal spray form of the vaccine.

Breastfeeding is fully compatible with flu vaccination, and preventing the flu in mothers can reduce the chance that the infant will get the flu. Also, by breastfeeding, mothers can pass on to the infant the antibodies that their bodies make in response to the flu shots, which can reduce the infant's chances of getting sick with the flu.

This is especially important for infants less than 6 months old, who have no other way of receiving vaccine antibodies since they are too young to be vaccinated.

Talk about this with your doctor or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site at the link below.

Do you have a question or comment about swine flu that isn't being addressed?

Helping us track it all down is the Hillsborough County Health Department, which, like us, draws much of its information from the very helpful Web sites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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