Varicella Virus Vaccine

Varicella Virus Vaccine must not be given to pregnant women. It contains live, attenuated varicella virus, and wild-type varicella virus caught during pregnancy is known to cause congenital varicella syndrome. A pregnancy exposure registry followed outcomes after the vaccine was used by mistake, and it did not see a higher risk of miscarriage, major birth defect or congenital varicella syndrome. There are no relevant animal data.

Nobody knows yet whether the varicella vaccine virus passes into human milk. When deciding about Varicella Virus Vaccine during breastfeeding, the developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be weighed together with the mother's clinical need for the vaccine. Any possible adverse effects on the breastfed child, from the vaccine or from the mother's underlying condition, should be considered as well. For preventive vaccines, the underlying maternal condition is being susceptible to the disease the vaccine prevents.