FYI Ladies

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Laura

FYI Ladies - PSA

Expert Answers
Ann Linden, certified nurse-midwife

Yes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) all recommend a flu shot for women who will be pregnant during flu season (October to mid-May). That's because if you get the flu while you're pregnant, you're more likely to have serious complications, such as pneumonia, that could put you and your baby at risk.

What's more, there's evidence that getting a flu shot during pregnancy offers your baby some protection after birth: Anti-flu antibodies that you develop after getting the shot are passed to your baby, providing him with immunity that may be protective until he's 5 or 6 months old.

This is important because young babies who catch the flu are at particular risk for serious illness, but they can't be vaccinated themselves until they're 6 months old. Learn more about flu shots for children.

Your caregiver should offer you a flu shot at a regularly scheduled prenatal visit. If she doesn't, ask for one.

Get your shot as early in the season as possible. Sometimes the vaccine is available as early as September or even late August. If you missed getting vaccinated during the fall, you can still get a shot in December or even later, although the sooner you do so the better. Keep in mind that the vaccine won't be fully effective for two weeks afterward.

Immunity lasts about a year, and the strains of the flu covered by the vaccine change every year, so you'll need a shot even if you've had one in previous years.

If you have a chronic illness such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, you're at particular risk for complications from the flu, so you should be sure to get the flu shot every year in September or October, whether you're pregnant or not.

There are a few exceptions: If you're sick and have a fever, wait until your symptoms are gone to get your flu shot. And don't get one if you're allergic to eggs or have ever had a severe allergic reaction to a flu shot.

Finally, let your healthcare provider know if you've ever had a rare condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome. She'll need to figure out whether the benefit of getting the flu vaccine outweighs any potential risks in your situation.

You may have heard it's best to wait until your second trimester to get the flu shot, but that's not the case. Both the CDC and ACOG now recommend the shot, which is made with inactivated (killed) virus, at any time during pregnancy. Pregnant women should not receive the nasal-spray vaccine, which is made with live virus.

Some moms-to-be are concerned about the preservative thimerosal, used in some flu shots. The CDC has found no convincing evidence of harm resulting from exposure to this preservative in vaccines, and both the CDC and ACOG say the benefits of the flu shot outweigh the theoretical risk, if any, from thimerosal. If you're worried about it, though, ask your provider if you can get a dose of thimerosal-free flu vaccine. There's more of it around now than in the past, but it still may not be available everywhere.

Young children are more likely to suffer complications from the flu, so the CDC also recommends that you and everyone who comes in regular, close contact with your child -- including caregivers in and outside your home -- be vaccinated every October until your child turns 5.

The recommendation holds even after your baby gets the flu shot, because the vaccine doesn't offer total protection. And not to worry -- it's safe for breastfeeding moms to be vaccinated. Unlike pregnant women, nursing mothers can safely get the nasal-spray vaccine, too.

Posted 9/30/08 11:19 PM