Is immunity to an illness which is acquired via a vaccination passed on to a baby in breastmilk?
They won’t generally give you vaccinations of any sort while you are pregnant- however, if you received one prior to giving birth you would pass some immunity on to your child. Antibodies you have formed, either from vaccination or having the disease, will pass through either the placenta or through your breast milk. In fact, that is crucial for some things like Tetanus and Diphtheria- which most of us have immunity as a result of shots. In areas where Hepatitis B is a problem, protecting the newborn begins by immunizing women preferably before pregnancy. As far as vaccinations received after the baby is born, passing those immunities on would be questionable. It takes some time after a vaccination to actually form antibodies that render you immune. In some cases it takes several shots over time. They will not give you any live bacteria vaccines while you are pregnant though, because your baby would be completely unable to defend itself and could develop the disease – but not you. Befo
