Factors affecting the vaccination choices of pregnant women for their children: a systematic review of the literature

ABSTRACT

In recent years, an increase in vaccine hesitancy has led to a decrease in vaccination coverage in several countries. We conducted a systematic review of studies that assessed knowledge of and attitudes toward pediatric vaccinations, and the vaccination choices and their determinants among pregnant women. A total of 6,277 records were retrieved, and 16 full texts were included in the narrative synthesis. The published literature on the topic shows that, overall, pregnant women believe that vaccines are important for the protection of their children and the community, but various concerns and misunderstandings persist around vaccine safety and efficacy, which reduce the trust of expectant mothers in immunization. Nevertheless, such attitudes and choices vary depending on the vaccine being considered and the corresponding determinants should therefore be studied in the context of each specific vaccination. Further research on this topic is needed, particularly in non-western countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Pregnancy
• vaccination
• immunization
• knowledge
• attitudes
• vaccine hesitancy

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Sapienza University of Rome [University Research Projects 2016 (Progetti di Ricerca di Ateneo 2016), protocol n. RM116154F1C1C6AF].