Pregnant inflammatory bowel disease patients may require counselling regarding live vaccines in newborns

Inflammatory bowel disease patients are prone to immunosuppression due to effects of their medications. Physicians are recommended to assess vaccination status and overall health in all patients, prior to initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. Immunosuppressant medications in women with inflammatory bowel disease are often continued during pregnancy, which can result in newborns having an increased risk of immunosuppression at birth. While medication-induced immunosuppression in infants is transient, parents should be counselled about delaying live vaccine administration in newborns until they are immune competent. A retrospective study was done over six months at an urban multispecialty medical center to assess whether physicians are counselling pregnant immunosuppressed inflammatory bowel disease patients regarding live vaccinations in their newborns. The study revealed that only 57% of patients had documented counselling in their charts. Further studies are necessary to determine physician counselling practices of pregnant women about live vaccines. It is critical that physicians and patients are aware of the risks of immunosuppression in pregnancy and the potential impact of live vaccines upon the newborn.