Routine vaccines recommended during pregnancy

Once your pregnancy is confirmed, the team at the Primary Health Unit (UBS) checks your history and organizes the schedule:

Tdap (Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis):

When to get it: One dose in each new pregnancy, recommended from the 20th week (ideally between the 20th and 36th week).

Why it's essential: Besides preventing neonatal tetanus, it passes on antibodies against whooping cough, protecting the newborn from severe forms of the disease before they complete their own childhood vaccine schedule.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV):

When to get it: A single dose recommended between the 28th and 36th week of pregnancy.

Why it's essential: It significantly reduces the risk of severe respiratory infections and bronchiolitis caused by RSV in the baby's first 6 months.

Hepatitis B:

Indicated for pregnant women who are not vaccinated or have an incomplete schedule (3 doses). If you got doses in the past, you don't need to start over; you just complete what's missing.

Influenza (Flu) and COVID-19:

Pregnant women are a priority group because of their higher risk of respiratory complications. These vaccines can be given in any trimester of pregnancy, according to the campaigns and booster doses with strains updated by the SUS (Brazil's public health system).

Vaccines that require special attention or are contraindicated

Live attenuated virus vaccines (routinely contraindicated): Vaccines such as MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), Chickenpox (Varicella) and HPV are not recommended during pregnancy. If you are not immune to these diseases, the vaccines should be given right after the birth.

Yellow Fever: Because it is a live virus vaccine, it is only given in exceptional cases, when the risk of local transmission outweighs the risk of the vaccine (for example, trips that cannot be postponed or living in an area with an active outbreak), always after a prior medical assessment.

Practical tips for pregnant women

Always bring your vaccination card: Show your vaccination history at your first prenatal care visit. Doses received in childhood or adolescence are still valid and help avoid unnecessary shots.

Record it right away: Make sure the vaccine is recorded in your Caderneta da Gestante (pregnancy booklet) and in the SUS system.

Common reactions: Mild pain, warmth at the injection site or a low fever are expected immune system responses. Intense or persistent symptoms or allergic reactions should be assessed immediately by the UBS or a health service.

Reference sources

Brazil's Ministry of Health — National Immunization Program (PNI): Manual of Standards and Procedures for Vaccination.

Brazil's Ministry of Health — Normative Instruction on the National Vaccination Calendar.

Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm) — Immunization Guide for Pregnant Women.