Why Should I Get The Vaccine
Pregnant women are at a greater risk of serious flu-related complications such as early labour, low birth weight and stillbirth so need extra protection.
Every year in Scotland, a number of pregnant women will get influenza , some will require hospital treatment or be admitted to intensive care. Those with a health condition such as diabetes or asthma are particularly vulnerable.
It only takes a few minutes to get vaccinated. The flu vaccine takes around 10 days to work, so the sooner you get it the better.
The flu vaccine:
- can help protect you and your developing baby against this years flu virus during pregnancy and for at least three months after birth
- contains no live viruses and cannot give you flu
- is safe for your baby and for you at any stage of your pregnancy
- can be given at the same time as the whooping cough vaccine
Safety And Side Effects
Seasonal flu vaccination has been recommended in pregnancy for several years in many countries. An increasing number of studies have shown it to be safe in all stages of pregnancy, including the first three months, and to have an important reduction in serious complications for the mother and baby. Read the abstracts of a US study from 2009 and a US study from 2012.
Another US study published in 2017 studied the effects of flu vaccination in the first three months of pregnancy. It looked at birth defects in over 52,000 babies who had been exposed to the flu vaccine in the first three months of pregnancy. By comparing this group with over 370,000 babies who had not been exposed to the flu vaccine, the study showed that having the flu vaccine in early pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of birth defects.
The most commonly reported side effects of flu vaccines are:
- pain, swelling, bruising, hardness or redness at the injection site
- slightly raised temperature
Influenza Vaccine And Pregnancy
Pregnant women and their babies are at increased risk for influenza-related complications. Pregnant women are also more likely to be hospitalized with flu than women of reproductive age who are not pregnant.
CDC has received reports of flu hospitalizations and deaths in pregnant women with influenza virus infection. It is important that we stay vigilant in protecting pregnant and postpartum women from flu.
Your recommendations make a difference to your patients. The first and most important step for flu prevention is a flu vaccine. Treatment with flu antiviral drugs is our second line of defense against flu.
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When And How Can I Get The Influenza Vaccine
Vaccination usually takes place between October and December before the influenza season begins, but it is not too late to be vaccinated if you enter your second trimester later in the season.
Each municipality organises local vaccination of risk groups. To find out where you can get the vaccine, check your municipality’s website, the website of your family doctor, or ask your midwife.
Why Should Pregnant People Get A Flu Shot
Influenza is more likely to cause severe illness in pregnant people than in people of reproductive age who are not pregnant. Changes to the immune system, heart, and lungs during pregnancy make people more susceptible to influenza severe enough to cause hospitalization throughout pregnancy and up to two weeks postpartum. Influenza also may be harmful for the developing baby. A common influenza symptom fever may be associated with neural tube defects and other adverse outcomes for a developing baby. Parental vaccination also can help protect a baby from influenza after birth .
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The Flu Shot And Pregnancy: Answers To Your Questions
While much of the worlds attention is currently focused on the new coronavirus , cold and flu season is also fast approaching. Fortunately, theres a vaccine that can help prevent the flu and its potential complications.
Pregnant? You may be wondering whether the flu shot is safe for you and your baby. Heres what the experts say about the flu shot and its safety, notes on which shot to get and where to get it, as well as the potential benefits and risks of vaccination.
of women. They also mention various clinical trials, observational studies, and other data that support a consistent safety record.
The CDC further explains that pregnant women are more likely to be hospitalized with flu than women of reproductive age who are not pregnant.
Why is this exactly? Well, pregnancy may weaken your immune system. This can make you more susceptible to illnesses like the flu. Add to that the extra work your body is already doing, particularly your heart and lungs, and you can see how serious complications might occur and why protection is important.
- soreness or swelling at the injection site
- lightheadedness
egg allergy, tell your doctor about it. Some formulations of the shot include egg protein and can cause a severe allergic reaction in such cases.
Why It Is Important For Pregnant Individuals To Get Vaccinated
Data strongly indicate that the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh risks for individuals who are pregnant or might become pregnant in the future.
The CDC recently released data showing the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in pregnant people in a single month was in August 2021. Data also indicate that 97% of pregnant people hospitalized, either for illness or labor and delivery, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were unvaccinated.
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Flu Shots And Miscarriage: Lets Clear Up Misunderstandings
With flu season in full swing, September is possibly the worst time to release a confusing study about the safety of flu shots for pregnant woman. But thats what happened, and now doctors across the country are running defense to protect pregnant women and their babies from the flu.
The study in question was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in Vaccine. The CDC promptly released a statement that the study does not quantify miscarriage risk and does not prove flu shots can cause miscarriage, even Vaccine Editor-in-Chief Gregory Poland, CRED, who is also director of vaccine research at the Mayo Clinic, was quoted in The New York Times saying he does not at all believe flu shots caused the miscarriages reported in the study.
Unfortunately, click-baiting media outlets and grassroots anti-vaccination advocates got wind of the study. Inflammatory headlines and misinformation added to the confusion about the study, leaving fearful pregnant women scrambling to decide whether to get vaccinated.
Lets make one thing clear: UT Southwestern Ob/Gyns and infectious disease experts recommend that all pregnant women get the flu shot. The benefits for moms and babies clearly outweigh the risks, no matter what you might have read online. Lets examine why we can confidently make this recommendation and what to do if youre on the fence about getting vaccinated for the flu.
Should Pregnant Women Get A Flu Shot
As flu season approaches, youve likely seen and heard a lot of encouragement to get your flu shot and for a very good reason. Getting vaccinated is one way you can help protect yourself, your family and those around you. Influenza vaccines are available at your doctors office, and some workplaces even provide them.
Amidst all the talk about the flu, one question I hear every year is from pregnant women wondering whether theyre supposed to get a flu shot. Some even assume they shouldnt get the flu shot because they are so used to their doctors and pharmacists telling them not to take certain medications while pregnant. To dispel any myths or misunderstandings about receiving the influenza vaccine while pregnant, read on.
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Flu Vaccine Safety And Pregnancy
Questions & Answers
Note: There is no recommendation that pregnant people or people with pre-existing medical conditions need to get special permission or written consent from their doctor or health care professional for influenza vaccination if they get vaccinated at a worksite clinic, pharmacy, or other location outside of their physicians office. Pregnant people should not get nasal spray vaccine. For more information, visit Misconceptions about Seasonal Flu and Flu Vaccines.
Is The Flu Shot Recommended For Pregnant Women
We know the flu vaccine is safe for both mother and baby. We also know that the flu is not.
Changes in a womans immune system, heart and lungs during pregnancy make a pregnant woman especially susceptible to serious illness if she were to get the flu complications, hospitalization and even death can occur. The flu also can increase the likelihood of pregnancy complications, such as premature labor and delivery.
However, getting a flu shot during any trimester of the pregnancy can protect both mother and baby from serious illness. When an expectant mother gets a flu shot, she passes on antibodies to the baby that can protect her child for six months after birth.
These factors make getting a flu shot during pregnancy even more essential.
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A Deep Loss Of Control
In true scientific reasoning, the piece of information that changed my mind was completely arbitrary. But to be pregnant is to face a deep loss of control on a daily basis. There is, of course, your body new sensations arising every day, a tug here, a sharp pain there, a primal exhaustion. Then there are numerous decisions: to take an extra genetic test, choose one vitamin over another, decide whether or not to fly on an airplane.
These dilemmas are offered by clinicians and loved ones alike with a large dose of opinion and fear, and coupled with a historical dearth of research around pregnancy related choices, especially studies involving minority communities. And this doesnt even account for those dealing with fertility issues and treatments.
Divya, a doctor in Houston has experienced almost all aspects of this process first hand. Last year, she temporarily decided to stop working as a hospitalist during her last trimester to protect herself and her baby from the virus. She delivered her son in June.
When the vaccine was offered to her in December, she and her husband a cardiologist debated its safety for her child, since she was breastfeeding and there was little data available about how it affected breastmilk at the time. She conferred with other mothers and decided to stop breastfeeding altogether so she could get the vaccine.
Am I doing the right thing? Thinking of what you are bringing home. It feels kind of stressful
Should Pregnant And Lactating Women Receive The Covid
Yes. Johns Hopkins Medicine agrees with and strongly supports the recommendations of the CDC, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine who recommend that all pregnant or lactating individuals, along with those trying to get pregnant, be vaccinated against COVID-19.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes pregnant women as a high-risk group for severe COVID-19 illness, though severe disease is fortunately uncommon. The decision to receive the COVID-19 vaccine should be a shared decision among a woman, her care partner and medical provider.
Starting Sept. 1, 2021, all Johns Hopkins Medicine personnel, including newly hired individuals, are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This includes women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to become pregnant. We have changed our policy because of recently updated CDC guidance based on accumulated data of the COVID-19 vaccines efficacy. JHM personnel requesting or who have previously been approved for a pregnancy-related exception to the vaccine must provide a note from their physician before Oct. 4.
JHED ID required: Full vaccination requirements for Johns Hopkins Medicine staff can be viewed on our internal portal.
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What If I Get The Flu
Having the flu vaccine doesnt guarantee you wont catch the flu. However, if you do get it, there is some medicine you can take that may reduce your risk of complications. See your GP if you think youre getting ill.
Flu symptoms come on very quickly and can include:
- a sudden fever a temperature of 38C or above
- an aching body
Is The Flu Vaccine Safe In Pregnancy
Yes. Studies have shown that it’s safe to have the flu vaccine during any stage of pregnancy, from the first few weeks up to your expected due date.
Women who have had the flu vaccine while pregnant also pass some protection on to their babies, which lasts for the first few months of their lives.
It’s safe for women who are breastfeeding to have the vaccine.
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Why Should Pregnant Women Get The Flu Jab
Though most people recover relatively quickly from flu, pregnancy can change the way the human body handles a viral infection.
In rare cases, flu can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of the mother.
“Flu can be very serious during pregnancy for both mums-to-be and their babies and leaves women at higher risk of complications and, in some cases, can develop into pneumonia,” says Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives .
“That is why we are encouraging all pregnant women to have the vaccine as soon as possible, so they are protected from flu viruses circulating this winter.”
The RCM is also urging all midwives and maternity support workers to get vaccinated – to help protect the families they care for.
Both the World Health Organization and the NHS are worried about the ‘double danger’ of flu and coronavirus this winter.
Scientific research shows getting both diseases at the same time can be serious and may be deadly.
A significant flu season would put extra pressure on health services which already have to the manage the pressures caused by Covid-19 patients.
To avoid that additional pressure, more people are being offered a free flu vaccine this year: anyone over 50 in England is eligible, although people over 65 with health conditions will be prioritised.
The government says there is enough flu vaccine for 30 million people.
Flu Vaccines During Pregnancy Protect Babies For 6 Months After Birth
Evidence shows that getting a flu jab during pregnancy provides substantial protection to young babies, but uptake in many countries is still concerningly low
Pregnant women can pass on antibodies to their babies
Shutterstock/Rido
Babies are two-thirds less likely to get the flu in their first six months of life if their mother had a flu vaccine while they were pregnant, a large Australian study shows.
Influenza can be particularly dangerous to young children because their immune systems are still developing. In the US, 12 children under the age of 6 months died of the flu in the 2019-20 season.
Many countries now recommend getting a flu shot during pregnancy because protective antibodies are passed
Continue reading
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Who Is Eligible And How To Get The Vaccine
The flu vaccine is available to all pregnant women in the UK for free on the NHS, along with other groups at high risk of flu complications. The vaccine can be given at any stage of pregnancy. Women should ask their midwife about where to get the vaccine. In some areas it is available from antenatal clinics and in other areas women receive the vaccine at GP surgeries.
The flu vaccine can safely be given to pregnant women at the same time as the pertussis vaccine. In the 2020-21 flu season, 44% of pregnant women in England received the flu vaccine.
See pages on Influenza and the Flu vaccine for more general information.
Is The Flu Shot Safe For Pregnant Women
When we talk about the safety of medications for pregnant women, were actually considering two separate things: safety for the mom and safety for the baby. Many times, medications that women take routinely before or after pregnancy arent recommended during pregnancy because we just dont have enough scientific data to show that the medication is safe for the baby.
The flu vaccine is different. It has been given to millions of pregnant women over the years. As documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , there is a significant amount of scientific evidence to show that the flu vaccine is safe for both mother and baby.
There is a significant amount of scientific evidence to show that the flu vaccine is safe for both mother and baby.
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Where Should A Pregnant Person Get Vaccinated
There are many different options for pregnant people to receive a flu shot, including a health care providers office, at work, a pharmacy, some stores, or a supermarket. All these places give flu vaccines that are licensed and approved for use in the United States. If youve never had a problem when previously receiving a flu vaccine, then there is no reason you cant get a flu vaccine at work or a supermarket.
Barriers To Vaccination In Pregnancy And Patient
Specifically regarding vaccine safety, there has been much controversy over possible associations between vaccines and complicated, multietiological health outcomes, such as autism spectrum disorders in children. Research to date involving more than 100,000 children that has been vetted by the Institute of Medicine, CDC, World Health Organization, American Academy of Pediatrics and numerous other agencies has very convincingly shown that there is no such association between vaccines and autism., On the contrary, these studies have further supported the safety and effectiveness of vaccines in reducing infectious disease and improving overall health. Continued research on the overall health effects and safety of vaccines is warranted.
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