1 in 4 pregnant women does not plan to be vaccinated against whooping cough: which vaccines are recommended for your unborn child? | Healthy & Happy
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Vaccinations in pregnant women help protect babies against certain viruses and bacteria. Yet one in seven pregnant women in Belgium is not aware of the recommended vaccines, a new study shows. Vaccinologist and Prof. Dr. Kirsten Maertens (UAntwerp) looks at the figures and provides nuance. “This is the key to high vaccination rates.”
What are the attitudes of young mothers and pregnant women towards vaccinations? Pharmaceutical company Pfizer wanted to know the answer to that question and so it conducted an online survey among 745 Belgian women. This concerns women who were pregnant, women with a child younger than six months or women with a clear desire to have children.
Which vaccines are recommended during pregnancy?
According to the survey, fifteen percent of women did not know that there are vaccines that they can receive during pregnancy to protect their baby. However, the immune system of such small children is very vulnerable, especially during pregnancy and the first months of life. In Belgium, four vaccines are currently recommended by the Superior Health Council during pregnancy. It concerns vaccinations against whooping cough, RSV, flu and Covid-19.
“The most recent, large-scale Flemish vaccination coverage study dates from 2020,” responds vaccinologist and Prof. Dr. Kirsten Maertens (UAntwerp), who examined the new Pfizer figures for us. “Four years ago we saw that approximately ninety percent of women was aware of the recommendation for the whooping cough vaccine. For flu, this was eighty percent. These results are in line with the new findings.”
One in four (24 percent) women do not plan to be vaccinated against whooping cough
If we look deeper at the results of the online survey, it appears that half (53 percent) of pregnant women wanted to be vaccinated against the flu. Almost as many (47 percent) wanted a shot against Covid-19 and 58 percent were in favor of vaccination against RSV, which is the second leading cause of death in babies under one year of age worldwide.
It is even striking that one in four women (24 percent) does not plan to be vaccinated against whooping cough, even though the disease has been in the news several times in recent months. At the end of April, it became apparent that the number of whooping cough infections was increasing in Flanders: more than 670 babies had already contracted the disease this year. “The Pfizer study took place between November 2023 and January 2024. Even before all the press attention and the rising figures became known. That certainly plays a role,” says Prof. Dr. Maertens.
“The large-scale study from 2020 showed a vaccination rate of 85 percent against whooping cough. So there is a slightly larger difference here with Pfizer’s figures,” she acknowledges. “Keep in mind that the large-scale study took place four years ago – before the corona vaccines were on the market. Since then we have seen a small decline in vaccination confidence.”
It is important that health professionals answer questions correctly
Kirsten Maertens (UAntwerp)
“Plus, Pfizer gauged the intentions of pregnant women. Perhaps some will change their mind and be convinced after a positive conversation with a health professional.”
Doctor, I have a question
Prof. Dr. Maertens especially points out the importance of the dissemination of correct information. “That is the key for a high vaccination rate. Both in pregnant women and in the general population and healthcare workers. It is important that the latter group informs women, answers questions correctly and talks positively about the recommended vaccines.”
This is also evident from the recent survey: it shows that fear plays a role in the way people search for information. Those who were not particularly afraid of vaccinations during pregnancy were more likely to seek information via ‘institutional’ websites such as Kind & Gezin. Moderately to very anxious women get more information from Facebook and blogs.
Also read:
“Some people have to cough so hard that they break a rib”: whooping cough is also on the rise in Flanders, this is how you recognize it (+)
The number of women with cervical cancer is decreasing in our country: how do you reduce your risk? “You can do that test at home” (+)
“This is worrying”: thirty times more measles in Europe due to declining vaccination rates
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