flu shot while pregnant

Make a decision you feel comfortable with, and practice good immune-boosting and prevention tactics in any case.

Despite the threat of H1N1, some women have reservations about getting a flu shot while pregnant.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Getting both the seasonal and H1N1 flu shot while pregnant is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many of the world's top pediatricians, but some doctors aren't as anxious to advise expecting mothers to get the shots.

Health officials say pregnant women are on the high priority list for vaccination because they run a higher risk of complications and may be able to provide protection to unvaccinated infants. "I strongly recommend the full series of flu shots for all children and also for pregnant women. Children and pregnant women were found to be very vulnerable to H1N1 in the epidemic last spring in Mexico, and the infection needs to be taken very seriously," says pediatrician Philip Landrigan, MD, chair of the department of community and preventative medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

THE DETAILS: Government reports indicate that about one-third of pregnant women hospitalized for swine flu have died, bringing the death toll among pregnant women to 28 as of the end of August. The CDC estimates that swine flu has killed 600 people in U.S., including 60 children, and caused more than 9,000 hospitalizations. Still, some doctors out there think the potential risks of getting the vaccine could outweigh the benefits. "Although the swine flu does pose some risk to pregnant women, I just can't recommend the vaccine yet because its safety has not been studied," says pediatrician Bob Sears, MD, author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child (Sears Parenting Library) (Little, Brown and Company, 2007). "The vaccine product inserts state, and I quote from the Sanofi-Pasteur product, 'Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with H1N1 2009 Vaccine OR Fluzone [the company’s regular seasonal-flu vaccine.] It is also not known whether these vaccines can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. H1N1 2009 Vaccine should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.' Notice that this applies to both the H1N1 and the regular flu vaccine."