How long should a woman wait to conceive after receiving a yellow fever immunization?
Although there is theoretical risk of adverse effects on pregnancy because yellow fever vaccine is a live virus vaccine, yellow fever vaccination has NOT been known to cause any birth defects when given to pregnant women. Yellow fever vaccine has been given to many pregnant women without any apparent adverse effects on the fetus. One case-control study of women vaccinated during pregnancy showed a slightly increased risk of spontaneous abortion. There is not likely to be any detectable live virus from vaccine in a recipient’s bloodstream two weeks after vaccination. With some other live virus vaccines it is recommended to wait one month after vaccination before conceiving. While a two week delay between yellow fever vaccination and conception is probably fine, a one month delay has been advocated as a more conservative approach on purely theoretical grounds. If a woman is inadvertently or of necessity vaccinated during pregnancy she is unlikely to have any problems from the vaccine and
