The attitude of Polish women planning pregnancy and/or having children towards vaccinations: a cross-sectional survey study

Abstract

Objectives: Infectious diseases in pregnant women can cause birth defects. Implementing appropriate prevention methods while planning pregnancy can help avoid some of them. Material and methods: A cross-sectional survey study was performed. The questionnaire investigated attitudes towards vaccinations, as well as opinions on anti-vaccine movements and the so-called “chickenpox parties”. The questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this study and the survey was conducted using the google form, which was posted on social media groups for women planning pregnancy, being pregnant or for mothers’ groups from Poland. Results: The study group consisted of 2402 women; their median age was 31 years (range 16–54 years). Most women were from cities > 100,000 inhabitants (49.7%, 1194/2402) and had higher education (71.9%, 1726/2402). A positive attitude towards vaccinations was more common among younger, nulliparous women from big cities (p = 0.02, p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively). 2068/2402 (86.1%) of respondents were not vaccinated before pregnancy and 1931/2402 (80.4%) of women were not vaccinated during pregnancy. While most women (1545/2402, 64.3%) considered vaccination safe, and effective (1904/2402, 79.3%) against infectious diseases, many (n = 296/2402 12.3%) have no opinion on the so-called chickenpox party. Conclusions: Most surveyed women had a positive attitude towards vaccinations and consider vaccines a safe and effective method of protection against infectious diseases. Since a significant proportion of women were not vaccinated before or during pregnancy and about 12% of women are undecided, the physician’s role is crucial in educating and persuading the patient to be vaccinated.