Accidental exposure after conception isnt linked to risks for baby
The cancer-preventing HPV vaccine does not appear to have any ill effect on babies unintentionally exposed to it in the womb, researchers report. Babies whose mothers were vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) during pregnancy did not have a significantly higher risk for major birth defects, low birth weight, preterm birth or stillbirth, compared with unexposed babies, according to a new study.
We found no support for an adverse effect on the unborn baby of HPV vaccination in pregnancy, said senior author Anders Hviid.
Hviid is a senior investigator with the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus thats responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancer, 95 percent of anal cancer and 70 percent of throat cancers, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
HPV vaccines are recommended for all girls and women aged 9 to 26 years, to protect them against cervical cancer. More than 72 million females have been vaccinated worldwide, the study authors said in background notes.
Data on the safety of HPV vaccination during pregnancy is lacking, which prompted this new study, Hviid said. HPV vaccines are not recommended for use in pregnancy, but given the target group, inadvertent exposure will occur in early unrecognized pregnancies, Hviid said.
For the study, Hviid and his colleagues reviewed medical records for all Danish women whose pregnancy ended between October 2006 and November 2013. They wound up with more than 540,000 pregnancies in their evaluation. The researchers identified about 1,700 pregnancies with inadvertent HPV vaccine exposure, Hviid said.
HealthDay
