Assessment of Obstetric Providers' Practice Surrounding Vaccine Counseling and Administration for Non-Birthing...

Society guidelines recommend caregivers of neonates, including both co-parents, be up to date on Tdap, COVID-19, and influenza vaccines before delivery to prevent primary transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases to the infant. However, only one third of reproductive-age individuals are up to date on recommended vaccinations. Pregnant individuals often receive recommended vaccines during prenatal care, but limited research has investigated if prenatal care can also provide opportunities to increase vaccination rates among non-birthing partners/co-parents.

We administered an anonymous survey to outpatient prenatal care providers, including Obstetricians, Family Medicine physicians, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners, to assess practice patterns and opinions regarding vaccine counseling and in-office vaccination for the non-birthing partners of pregnant patients.

Of the 200 obstetric providers surveyed, 112 responded (56%). Of these, 42% (n=77) reported counseling non-birthing partners on vaccine recommendations less than half the time. Only 4% (n=4) of respondents report vaccinating non-birthing partners who are not already patients in their practice. Nearly half of providers who do not offer non-birthing partner vaccination had never considered the practice (46%, n=44). The majority of respondents desired more education on non-birthing partner vaccination (58%, n=55). Respondents identified multiple implementation barriers to vaccinating non-birthing partners, including difficulties with registration, staffing, and time constraints. If barriers were addressed, 68% (n=65) of providers expressed willingness to incorporate non-birthing partner vaccination into their practice.

This study demonstrates willingness of key stakeholders to incorporate non-birthing partner vaccination into prenatal care, a unique mechanism to increase parental vaccination rates and protect neonates from vaccine-preventable illness.