Yellow Fever Vaccine, Pregnancy, & Conception
- Before you go, do your homework: Travelers’ Health
- Search for yellow fever vaccination clinics.
- Don’t forget to bring proof of vaccination on your trip.
Yellow fever vaccine has been given to many pregnant women without any apparent adverse effects on the fetus. However, since yellow fever vaccine is a live virus vaccine, it poses a theoretical risk.
Pregnant women should avoid or postpone travel to an area where there is risk of yellow fever. If travel cannot be avoided, discuss vaccination with your doctor.
While a two week delay between yellow fever vaccination and conception is probably adequate, a one month delay has been advocated as a more conservative approach.
If, for some reason, a woman is vaccinated during pregnancy, she is unlikely to have any problems from the vaccine and her baby is very likely to be born healthy.
For more technical information, see: Additional Vaccine Information for Healthcare Providers.