Flu shots during pregnancy

Is your head already spinning from all of the confusing information about the safety of routine vaccinations? Well, news of the latest findings regarding the flu vaccine during pregnancy certainly won’t help things. A group of researchers recently reported an association between a pregnant woman getting the flu vaccine and having a miscarriage. The authors were clear that the study could not establish that flu shots cause miscarriage. It could only report the observation that, in this small group of women, miscarriage was slightly more common within 28 days of getting the flu shot. But only in women who had also gotten a specific formulation of the flu shot the previous year. More research would be needed to draw conclusions beyond that. But before you panic or march off to your next prenatal appointment to emphatically refuse this season’s flu vaccine, let’s take a step back and look at this situation a little more carefully. As with any treatment or medication, it is essential to balance its potential benefits with potential harms. The flu and the flu vaccine are no exceptions. We need to compare the potential benefits and harms of getting the flu shot with the potential harms of the flu. (There is obviously no benefit to getting the flu!) What’s the big deal about getting the flu when I’m pregnant? The pregnant you is not the same as the non-pregnant you, especially when it comes to your immune system. In general, your immune system is dialed down a bit in pregna...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Cold and Flu Family Planning and Pregnancy Health Infectious diseases Prevention Vaccines Women's Health Source Type: blogs