During pregnancy, mothers often take extra precautions to ensure the health of their babies. Whether this means eating more fruits and vegetables or taking more rest, pregnant mothers highly value self-care because of how directly this affects the newborn baby. This is why it is important to protect oneself, not only from everyday illness but also from infectious diseases. Now you may not expect to catch measles, but even the seasonal flu can have detrimental effects on the health of you and your baby. Despite its importance, many often disregard the flu vaccination, however, during pregnancy, it becomes even more important to protect yourself and your baby from Influenza. 

But what if I already got the flu shot last year?

The thing about flu viruses is that they evolve and become resistant to previous vaccines. As a result, each time a novel flu virus presents itself, a new vaccine must be taken for the prevention of Influenza. 

In addition, if mothers are substantially at risk for infectious diseases such as cholera, rabies, hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, then they should opt to take the vaccinations for these. The following chart lists which vaccinations should be taken during the childbearing year and when they should be taken: