Most women have no reaction to vaccination during pregnancy, and serious side effects are extremely rare.
When serious side effects do occur, they are usually resolved by healthcare professionals or at a hospital, with both mother and baby returning to full health.
Most women have no reaction to vaccination during pregnancy. Some have mild reactions that last between 12 and 24 hours and are easily treated at home. Side effects such as anaphylaxis are extremely rare.
Most women have no reaction at all to either the whooping cough vaccine or the influenza vaccine. Some have mild reactions that last between 12 and 24 hours and are easily treated at home.
Serious reactions to either influenza or whooping cough vaccination during pregnancy are rare. When they do occur, they are usually resolved with treatment from healthcare professionals or at a hospital, with both mother and baby returning to full health.
A very small number of people have a severe allergic reaction to vaccines called ‘anaphylaxis’. They can develop swelling, hives, breathing difficulties, lowered blood pressure and in severe cases, shock.
Anaphylactic reactions are very rare – they occur in about one in a million people who have a vaccination.1 Midwives, nurses and GPs are trained to respond to an anaphylactic reaction with quick delivery of adrenaline.
A very small number of women experience a reaction serious enough to require them to attend a hospital emergency department.2
Follow-up with those women indicated that all symptoms resolved and that both mother and baby remained healthy.
If your symptoms last longer than a couple of days, or if you are worried about how you feel after your vaccination, you can get help from:
The development of this content was led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute for the MumBubVax website (now archived).