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HPV Vaccination Before Pregnancy Linked to Fewer Complications
Researchers in Sweden studied whether getting an HPV vaccine before pregnancy was connected with pregnancy health.
They looked at records for more than 624,000 first-time births.
About 93,000 of the women had received the vaccine before becoming pregnant.
The study reported that vaccination was linked with a lower risk of some major pregnancy complications.
The biggest reductions were reported among women vaccinated at younger ages.
The researchers examined outcomes such as early birth, stillbirth, and babies being very small.
Another study in the UK found no difference in spontaneous early births, but suggested some other complications might be less common among vaccinated women.
HPV vaccination is already used to help prevent infections that can lead to cervical cancer.
The findings suggest it may have other possible benefits, but the article does not give specific risk estimates for the Swedish study.
A Swedish study linked HPV vaccination before pregnancy with lower risk of major pregnancy complications.
The largest risk reductions were reported among women vaccinated at a younger age.
Researchers analysed 624,713 first-time singleton births recorded from 2006 through 2023.
Of the women studied, 92,620—15 per cent—had received a quadrivalent HPV vaccine before pregnancy.
A separate 2025 Aberdeen study found no difference in spontaneous preterm birth, but suggested reductions in several other outcomes.
- Who
- Researchers including scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet.
- What
- A study examined whether HPV vaccination before pregnancy was associated with lower risks of pregnancy complications.
- Where
- Sweden.
- When
- The Swedish register study covered births from 2006 to 2023; its findings were published in the British Medical Journal.
- Why
- Researchers investigated potential pregnancy benefits because HPV infection and treatments for HPV-related cervical lesions have been linked to complications.
Evidence of potential benefits
Limits and differences in findings
Pregnancy outcomes
Evidence of potential benefits
The Swedish research reports that HPV vaccination before pregnancy was associated with lower risk of major pregnancy complications, with the greatest reductions among women vaccinated at younger ages.
Limits and differences in findings
A 2025 Aberdeen study found no difference in spontaneous preterm birth by vaccination status, although it reported possible reductions in other complications.
Key facts
- Study setting
- Sweden
- Births analysed
- 624,713 first-time, singleton births
- Study period
- 2006–2023
- Participants vaccinated before pregnancy
- 92,620 women, or 15 per cent
- Vaccine studied
- Quadrivalent HPV vaccine
- Age range
- Women aged 16–35
- Publication
- British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Sources
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