Maternal immunization and transplacental antibody transfer in cases of fetal growth restriction
Maternal vaccination effectively protects infants against infectious diseases directly after birth via transplacental transfer of antibodies. The magnitude of protection may be lower due to shorter duration of antibody transfer in preterms and a diminished antibody transfer rate in intrauterine growth restriction, which is mainly caused by placental insufficiency. Both groups are at increased risk of severe infection.
Approach/working method
In this study, we aim to compare transplacental antibody transfer after maternal vaccination in 4 groups:
- Infants with intra-uterine growth restriction due to placental insufficiency;
- Infants with a low birth weight but normal intra-uterine growth;
- Preterms with a normal birth weight and
- Term infants with a normal birth weight.
If transplacental transfer of antibodies is impaired in infants with intrauterine growth restriction, the vaccination program of these infants may be changed.