Do Tdap shots expose pregnant women to undue risk? No. Studies show the vaccines are safe

An Instagram post suggested that expectant mothers who get vaccinated against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, also known as whooping cough, are volunteering their bodies for a risky trial.

"Still wondering why a certain three-letter agency recommends pregnant women get the Tdap shot when the manufacturer even states there are no controlled studies of pregnant women using this, and they can’t get ethics approval to experiment on pregnant women," the post said. "So, pregnant women getting it voluntarily are quite literally the experiment." 

The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Researchers have done clinical trials with thousands of pregnant women who have received the Tdap, said Dr. C. Buddy Creech, director of Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.

"We give vaccines to people once they have been thoroughly evaluated for safety and efficacy; administering Tdap in pregnancy is no exception," he said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend the Tdap vaccination during pregnancy.

Tdap is a combined vaccine given to adolescents and adults to prevent three bacterial diseases: tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. (Another vaccine known as DTaP, for diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis, is given to children.)

Diphtheria can lead to breathing problems, paralysis and heart failure. Tetanus causes painful tightening of the body’s muscles and can lead to "locking" of the jaw, preventing people from opening their mouths or swallowing. Diphtheria and tetanus can be fatal. 

Pertussis can be serious, particularly in infants, perhaps leading to pneumonia, seizures or brain damage. 

The federal Food and Drug Administration in 2005 approved two Tdap vaccines, Boostrix and Adacel for people, including pregnant women. To prevent infant pertussis, the FDA in 2022 approved Boostrix during pregnancy and, in 2023, approved Adacel.

Research on pregnant women has found the Tdap vaccine to be safe and effective. 

• A December 2022 medical journal article listed six randomized controlled trials on pregnant women. The article said infants whose mothers received the Tdap had "significantly higher" antibodies to prevent pertussis.  

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• A 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association included more than 29,000 pregnant women in six states. It found no birth defects for the children of women vaccinated with Tdap during pregnancy. A 2014 JAMA study looked at more than 26,000 pregnant women in California and reached the same conclusion.

• New Zealand researchers in 2016 observed 793 pregnant women for four weeks after the Tdap vaccination and found no "serious adverse events likely to be caused by the vaccine."

• A 2020 controlled study of 687 pregnant women found the Tdap was safe and provided infants more pertussis antibodies.

The CDC said that safety monitoring by it and the FDA has found the Tdap vaccine safe for pregnant women and their babies. Administering the vaccine during pregnancy does not increase risk for pregnancy complications such as low birth weight or preterm delivery, the CDC said.

Tdap is recommended during pregnancy in more than 50 countries, said Dr. Elyse Kharbanda, executive research director, HealthPartners Institute in Minnesota.

"Studies from our group and others have consistently demonstrated the safety of Tdap vaccine when administered in pregnancy," she said.

We rate the Instagram post False.