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Protecting babies starts with informed, trusted conversations during pregnancy. 

From January to June 2025, WithinReach and the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute led a Vax Northwest project to better understand how vaccines recommended during pregnancy are discussed, offered, and received. This study grew out of a 2024 literature review, which highlighted major gaps in available data—especially around the newly recommended maternal Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine—and raised questions about how providers approach vaccine conversations and what pregnant people experience during prenatal care. 

This work is essential for ensuring families have the information, support, and confidence they need to make informed decisions that protect not only their babies, but the health of our communities. 

Here are the top ten takeaways: 

1️⃣ Listening is the first step toward confidence. 

Pregnant and recently pregnant people shared their experiences through focus groups, including two Spanish-language groups. Their voices grounded the work in real experiences—not assumptions—about what families need to make informed vaccine decisions. 

2️⃣ Providers want to do the right thing—but need support to do it well. 

Many healthcare professionals described wanting more time, resources, and confidence to discuss vaccines effectively. Conversations that feel rushed or uncertain can unintentionally add to patient vaccine hesitancy. 

3️⃣ Protecting the baby is the most powerful motivator. 

Both families and providers shared that vaccine decisions during pregnancy often center around one message: protecting the baby. This framing proved especially effective for Tdap and RSV vaccines, which offer critical early protection at a time when newborns are most vulnerable. 

• Tdap during pregnancy protects babies from pertussis (whooping cough), a disease that can be life-threatening in the first months of life when infants are too young to be vaccinated themselves. 

• The maternal RSV vaccine helps protect newborns from severe respiratory illness during their highest-risk period—when RSV infections can lead to hospitalization. 

4️⃣ Not all vaccines are viewed equally. 

While Tdap and RSV vaccines had strong recommendation and uptake rates, vaccines against influenza (flu) and COVID-19 were more often met with skepticism—fueled by misinformation and a perception that these diseases posed lower risk to infants and the pregnant individual. 

5️⃣ Language access matters. 

Spanish-speaking participants were less likely to report being informed about certain vaccines, underscoring the need for culturally responsive care and access to information in patients’ preferred languages. 

6️⃣ Team-based care makes a difference. 

Medical assistants and nursing staff primarily administer vaccines and often initiate vaccine discussions—but some lack training or confidence in providing information on vaccine safety and efficacy. Strengthening the entire care team’s knowledge can improve patient experiences. 

7️⃣ Public education creates lasting change. 

One provider compared vaccine campaigns to the long-running “Back to Sleep” campaign for infant safety: when clear messages are shared broadly, families arrive at the clinic already informed and confident. 

8️⃣ Barriers aren’t just about beliefs—they’re about systems. 

Limited appointment time, billing challenges, and vaccine storage issues all influence whether providers can offer vaccines consistently. Removing these barriers supports both families and care teams. 

9️⃣ Collaboration fuels progress. 

By bringing together public health, healthcare, and community systems, Vax Northwest turned research into actionable strategies for care teams—starting with the webinar, “Speak with Confidence: Immunizations During Pregnancy and Beyond.” This work continues next spring at the Washington State Immunization Summit on March 19, where partners across the state will come together to strengthen our collective approach to keeping families protected. 

🔟 Trust is the foundation of public health. 

Whether it’s between a provider and patient, or across agencies and communities, trust is what turns information into action. Building that trust requires listening, partnership, and empathy—values at the heart of WithinReach’s work. 

Through collaborations like this, we’re creating stronger, more connected systems that support every family from pregnancy onward. 

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