Measles

• Provider FAQs: Measles in Pregnancy: What Maternal-Fetal Medicine Sub-specialists Need to Know (Posted March 2024, Updated March 2025)

Key Recommendations:

• • Pregnant persons without evidence of immunity should receive a single 400-mg/kg dose of immune globulin IV (IVIG) within 6 days of exposure.
  • The use of Vitamin A at doses used for supportive treatment of measles is contraindicated in pregnancy.
  • Non-pregnant reproductive age people who do not have presumptive evidence of immunity should receive at least one dose of MMR vaccine.
  • Pregnant people who are unimmunized should defer vaccination until postpartum, ideally before discharge from the delivery hospital. 
  • MMR vaccination is safe for breastfeeding people. Breastfeeding does not interfere with immunity, and the vaccine is not transmitted through breast milk.
  • Lactating patients with suspected or confirmed active measles infection should be counseled on safe practices to prevent virus transmission.
• Provider Infographic on Measles in Pregnancy
  

Access the latest patient education resources developed by the SMFM Patient Education Committee. Patient education content reflects current, published SMFM practice guidelines. All content has undergone extensive internal review before publication.

• Patient FAQs: Measles Fact Sheet
• Measles in Pregnancy: Patient Infographic

• CDC Communications and Public Health Resources on Measles
• CDC Healthcare Providers Measles Page
• CDC HAN March 2024 on Measles
• CDC HAN March 2025 on Measles
• CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks in the US
• ACOG Practice Advisory on Management of Obstetric–Gynecologic Patients During a Measles Outbreak

• Podcast on Measles and Pregnancy: What Maternal-Fetal Medicine Subspecialists Need to Know (April 2024). In this episode of the SMFM Podcast series, Dr. Rachel Harrison and guest Dr. Neil Silverman discuss the latest SMFM guidelines on managing measles in pregnancy. They address the rise in measles cases in the US, the importance of vaccinations, and the specific risks and complications for pregnant individuals and provide critical insights on transmission, diagnosis, and care strategies to help healthcare providers manage measles effectively during this significant outbreak.