Among the strategies to encourage pregnant women to be vaccinated against pertussis in the postpartum period, that of giving them a prescription has been evaluated only sparsely.
To measure the effect of giving women who are not immunized against pertussis a prescription for the vaccine at discharge from the maternity unit.
Single-center before-and-after study (2011: before; 2015: after). All women received both oral and written information about vaccination against pertussis. During the after period, they were also specifically asked their immunization status during pregnancy. Those currently unimmunized received a written prescription for it at discharge.
Among the women unimmunized at delivery, the percentage who were vaccinated postpartum climbed from 17 to 42% between 2011 and 2015 (p < 0.001), while the percentage of their unimmunized partners who were vaccinated remained stable (27 and 29%, p = 0.74). During this time, the percentage of women immunized against pertussis at the beginning of pregnancy rose from 32 to 52% (p < 0.001). Finally, the percentage of all women protected against this disease postpartum climbed from 44 to 72% between these two periods (p < 0.001).
In the postpartum period, giving a prescription for pertussis vaccine to women unimmunized is accompanied by a significant elevation in their vaccination rate. Nevertheless, this rate remains low and better strategies have to be implemented.
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
About The Expert
Marion Bucchiotty
Saliha El Morabit
Yamina Hammou
Rachida Gallouj
Nasser Messaadi
Sophie Vanderstichele
Marielle Roumilhac
Philippe Dufour
Damien Subtil
References
PubMed