Best to find out about vaccination

Dear Dr. Donohue: My daughter is 31 and has been married for two years. She and her husband want to start a family. She asked if she had been vaccinated for German measles. I don’t remember, and the doctor who took care of our family has died. I tried to get his records before but couldn’t.

Should she get a vaccination now? Is there any way to determine if she has been vaccinated? — B.Z.

Answer: German measles is now called rubella. It isn’t a terribly serious infection, but it is terribly serious to a fetus. If a pregnant woman is infected with it, the baby might be born with many malformations — cataracts, heart disease, deafness and other defects.

There is a test to determine if a person was previously vaccinated. A blood specimen can be taken and analyzed for antibodies. If she doesn’t have rubella antibodies, she should get the vaccine.