Acceptance of the respiratory syncytial virus infant monoclonal antibody nirsevimab among post-partum women in Italy

The purposes of the cross-sectional survey were to investigate among a sample of post-partum women in Italy the attitudes and the behaviors about the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infant monoclonal antibody and to explore any associations with different characteristics.The survey was conducted between March and April 2025 in teaching and public hospitals randomly selected in Southern Italy. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire through a face-to-face interview for those women in the maternity wards and by telephone for those who were at home.A total of 476 women completed the interview for a response rate of 96.6%. Half (50.8%) reported that the monoclonal antibody was very useful for the protection of the newborn, and this was more likely among mothers who trusted the information they received about vaccinations and those who had not received information from Internet or social media. A total of 86.5% had immunized their newborn against RSV. Women who had received at least one vaccination when pregnant, those who believed that the monoclonal antibody was very useful, those who did not acquire information from Internet or social media, and those who trusted the vaccination information acquired were more likely to have immunized their child.Education and communication strategies must be embedded in pre-natal and maternal health programs, and healthcare workers must be encouraged to actively inform and counsel every new cohort of pregnant women about the role of the RSV immunization to protect their children.