Pediatricians Discuss Vaccines and Breastfeeding | Vaccine Conversations | CHOP

If you’re breastfeeding, you may have questions about your baby’s vaccines. Watch Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center, and Dr. Amna Husain, a pediatrician and lactation consultant, as they discuss common vaccine-related topics related to breastfeeding, including delaying vaccination when breastfeeding, whether pregnant or breastfeeding women should get the influenza (flu) vaccine, the different kinds of antibodies that babies get through the placenta and breast milk, and whether antibodies in breast milk interfere with vaccine responses.

For information about vaccines and vaccine safety, visit http://vaccine.chop.edu.

Dr. Husain can be found on Instagram and TikTok @dr.amnahusain and on YouTube at DrAmnaHusain.

00:00 Introductions
00:30 If I am breastfeeding, can I delay vaccinations?
1:20 Different types of antibodies from the placenta and breast milk
3:02 Can a mother who’s breastfeeding get the flu vaccine?
4:28 Do the antibodies in breast milk interfere with vaccine responses?

Video created by and for the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. ©2021. All rights reserved.

The Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC at CHOP) is composed of scientists, physicians, mothers, and fathers devoted to the study and prevention of infectious diseases. The Center was launched in October 2000 to provide accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about vaccines and the diseases they prevent.

If you have any questions about your child’s health, please contact your child’s doctor. This video is intended only to provide general education and not intended to create a doctor-patient relationship between you and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). It is not medical advice or treatment, and CHOP is not responsible for any outcomes you or your child might experience from your use of this video. This video is provided “AS IS” with no warranties or representations. This video is copyright of CHOP. All rights reserved. ©2021 The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.