Flu Vac's during pregnancy?

During my first pregnancy (when I was still stupid and naive) I was given the flu shot without knowing the pro's and con's - as I believed it was required and not really an option. I got so sick, and felt so bad - worst case of flu i had ever had. This time round I'm not so sure that I will be getting the vac, but will do proper research for myself before deciding.

Just an update ladies. We had a Wellness day at work and the nurses said I can only get a Vitamin B injection and not a flu shot...

After reading Deja's experience. I have decided not to get a shot... Thanks for sharing!

@ Deja that's very scary stuff. But standards have improved significantly since the arrival of swine flu, if you recall when swine flu first arrived it affected a lot of pregnant women in their second and third trimester and many died from it, so vac's since then have been developed not to compromise mum or unborn child. But its still a scary thought.

I know ideally most pregnancies we should go with as little medical influence as possible but the way medication is evolving and the way viruses and bacteria are out evolving us, sometimes medical intervention is needed.

I suppose like all we say, do our research and make our personal decision. But some research is outdated and there are reasons for new developments.

As far as I am aware stillborn babies can't be explained or attributed to much of any particular cause, hence nowadays we still have still born babies cause no one really knows why it happens when children are perfectly healthy during the pregnancy, if we knew for sure I'm sure the still born rate whether related to taking meds, vac's or anything would be prevented.

I am still a natural mum and I prefer letting my body work on it's own and I have been boosting on the vitamin C but the thought of how exposed me and my unborn baby is with this new flu strain and I am a bit paranoid cause this strain is harsher than swine flu (being pregnant we at so much higher a risk to exposure to it), I mean it's been all over the news about the other countries that lost lives to this new strain and also our government is offering the current flu vac for free to preggy mums, people over 65, kids under 10 and those with chronic conditions, it shows the intensity of awareness around this flu strain.

Haven't made my mind up as yet, still in my first trimester hopefully I will decide soon.

Hi Deja,

I am sorry but actual peer reviewed scientific research shows exactly the opposite. I don't mean to knock the lady at your pharmacy but mabybe you can tell her that anecdotal evidence isn't anecdotal and that she should conduct her research in a more scientific manner. Doctor Google will tell you just what you want to hear...

There are less chances for stillbirth in women who do vaccinate against the flu:

idsa.confex.com/idsa/2011/webprogram/Paper30513.html

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0708630#ref41

The flu vaccine can save the mother and child’s life by preventing or lessening the intensity of the influenza. It not only protects pregnant women but it also has the ability to protect babies, prenatally and post-natal. For example a study showed that the flu vaccine protected both the mother and the infant from the flu when the mother was vaccinated. Not only was the baby protected in utero, but the protection lasted after birth as well. One area of interest in the study was that mothers who received the influenza vaccine were significantly less likely to have respiratory illness with fever, as compared with the control group, and had fewer respiratory illnesses with a temperature of more than 38C and fewer clinic visits.
A new study showed a 70 percent decrease in preterm deliveries during the flu season for moms who got their yearly flu shot. "Infants who were born during the putative influenza season and whose mothers were vaccinated against influenza during pregnancy were less likely to be premature compared to infants of unvaccinated mothers born in the same period."

Even more recently, in September 2012’s Obstetrics &Gynecology, researchers found women who were vaccinated with the influenza vaccine were less likely to suffer a stillbirth (a pregnancy loss after the 20th week): 0.3 percent gave birth to stillborn infants, while 0.6 percent of unvaccinated women delivered stillborn babies. The protective effects continued after birth. While 0.4 percent of unvaccinated mothers lost their babies soon after birth, only 0.2% of vaccinated mothers suffered the same loss.

Newborns enter the world without protective immunity and are not able to receive the flu vaccine until they are six months of age. Until they can receive all the shots in the flu vaccine series they are extremely vulnerable to the flu. Infants who do catch the flu can become severely ill, require hospitalization and even die. One particular study (Influenza vaccine given to pregnant women reduces hospitalization due to influenza in their infants) revealed a sharp reduction in flu season hospitalizations among infants whose mothers were vaccinated against the flu. The study discovered that when influenza vaccine is given to pregnant women, it is 91.5% effective in preventing hospitalization of their infants for influenza in the first 6 months of life