Flu shots for the pregnant

There have been apprehensions about giving flu shots to pregnant women. Honestly, I didn’t get one when I was pregnant with my first, and my hospital didn’t recommend it either since I didn’t belong to a high risk group, I was told. But I’m going discuss this in detail with my doctor for this pregnancy.

I now find a lot of support for getting flu shots during pregnancy, or for women who will be pregnant during the flu season. A Mayo Clinic infection disease expert recommends that pregnant women get the flu vaccine shot as it is an inactivated virus, but NOT the nasal-spray vaccine since its made with a live though weakened virus. Also, one may now get the vaccine at any stage of pregnancy, and not past the first trimester as once advised.

Do the risk outweigh the benefit? You bet, that’s what experts are saying. Since pregnancy weakens the immune system already and puts extra stress on the heart and lungs, flu will more likely cause more complication for both the mother and baby.

What are the risks from getting a flu shot? Here’s CDC’s reply:

The viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. The risk of a flu shot causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small. However, a vaccine, like any medicine, may rarely cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. Almost all people who get influenza vaccine have no serious problems from it.

[Source: CDC, Mayo Clinic]

Tags: Center for Disease Control, complications, flu vaccines, health, pregnancy, public awareness and prevention