Is Poliovirus Vaccines safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Poliovirus Vaccines. This is a summary of that source — not our own verdict.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Breastfed infants are less likely to have fever and may be less likely to experience anorexia and reduced energy intake after routine childhood immunization than those who are not breastfed.[ 7 , 8 ] Administration of oral poliovirus vaccine to nursing infants is less effective if it is given the neonatal period, due to maternal antibodies in colostrum and breastmilk.[ 9 - 11 ] However, when given according to accepted vaccination schedules, breastfeeding does not interfere with the infant's response to oral polio vaccine.[ 12 - 14 ] One study found that in previously vaccinated infants at 21 to 40 months of age breastfed infants had higher neutralizing antibody titers, higher secretory IgA levels in saliva and higher fecal IgM against polio than formula-fed infants.[ 15 ] A study in Zambia found that infants whose mothers were infected with HIV had reduced antibody responses to oral polio vaccination than infants whose mothers were HIV negative. However, when results were corrected for duration of breastfeeding, the difference was small. The authors concluded that HIV-positive mothers breastfed for shorter durations (mean 6 months) than HIV-negative mothers (mean 15 months), resulting in a lowered immune response to oral polio vaccine.[ 16 ] A study in Bangladesh found that antibody titers for oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) type 3 were inadequate in 13.6% of infants who received OPV at 6 months and 7.3% of infants who received OPV at 12 months. Failure rates for types 1 and 2 were lower, as was the failure rate for intramuscular polio vaccine. Malnutrition and more than 2 diarrheal episodes appeared to be the causative factors for the poor response. Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a better response to OPV 3.[ 4 ] A subsidiary analysis of a study in Chilean infants that compared trivalent inactivated polio vaccine plus bivalent oral polio vaccine to trivalent inactivated polio vaccine alone found that breastfed infants might have a better mucosal response
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. Nursing women in Sweden and in Pakistan were studies between 1 and 10 months postpartum. Swedish women had received 3 to 5 doses of killed poliovirus vaccine during their childhood, while none of low-income Pakistani women had been vaccinated. Eight Swedish women and ten Pakistani women were given subcutaneous injections of trivalent killed poliovirus vaccine (Swedish National Bacteriological Laboratory). The Swedish women had only low increases in milk IgA antibody titers in milk that returned to baseline by 28 days after vaccination. Five of 11 Pakistani women had milk IgA increases that were about an order of magnitude greater than the Swedish women that persisted at 28 days after vaccination; two had a slight decrease in titers. Twenty other Pakistani women received oral trivalent live poliovirus vaccine (Institut M rieux, Lyon, France, or Connaught Labs, Toronto, Canada). Half of these women also received subcutaneous injections of cholera vaccine (Swedish National Bacteriological Laboratory). The oral vaccination with live poliovirus vaccine resulted in a statistically significant decrease in titers of secretory IgA antibodies in the milk of all women who had detectable titers before vaccination. The decrease in titers was much less than when the live poliovirus vaccine was given together with the cholera vaccine.[ 6 ] Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Source: NIH LactMed (National Library of Medicine).
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.