During pregnancy your immune system is less strong and you're more vulnerable to illnesses of all kinds. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that pregnant women get the 2009 H1N1 influenza (swine flu) vaccine and the regular seasonal flu shot, because pregnant women who get any type of flu are at risk for serious complications and hospitalization.
Daily preventive measures such as washing your hands and staying away from people who are sick are highly recommended too, as a way to avoid illnesses in general. But, says the CDC, vaccination is the single best way to protect yourself against the flu.
The agency points out that pregnant women who are otherwise healthy have been severely affected by the 2009 swine flu virus Compared to the general population, more pregnant women infected with the virus have been hospitalized, and some have died. Only about 1 percent of the general population is pregnant, but 6 percent of confirmed fatal swine flu cases so far have been in pregnant women.
According to the CDC and other government health agencies, yes.
In an August 2009 webcast hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an ob-gyn, a certified nurse-midwife, and other experts from the CDC and the National Institutes of Health explained why vaccination against swine flu is so important for moms-to-be and urged pregnant women to get the vaccine at the earliest opportunity.
According to those experts, the new H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine is very similar to the seasonal flu vaccine. It's made in the same way by the same company, employing the same process and the same facilities used to make the seasonal flu vaccine, which has been used safely for decades. It's simply a different strain of the influenza virus that's being targeted.
The seasonal flu shot, experts say, has proved safe and effective for pregnant women and their developing babies at all stages of pregnancy (including the first trimester). Flu is a serious illness that puts you flat on your back for days or weeks just when you're trying to stay healthy and nurture your baby in utero. It can even be a killer. And the risk of harm from a vaccine like the flu vaccine, which is based on a killed virus, is minuscule.
The shot for the new flu is expected to have a similar safety record. A number of clinical trials testing the vaccine are being conducted this fall by the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
No, not a chance. Flu shots – whether for seasonal flu or swine flu – do not contain the live virus, which is the only thing that can infect you and give you a case of the flu.
Flu shots work by injecting an inactivated vaccine that contains fragments of killed influenza virus. Because the influenza virus is dead, it can't infect you. But it does cause your body to produce antibodies that protect you from the live version if you're exposed to it.
For these reasons, flu shots are approved for pregnant women in every trimester.
There's also a potential benefit to your baby: If the swine flu shot works the way the seasonal flu shot does (as it's expected to, but we don't know yet for sure), antibodies that you develop may be passed to your baby and provide protection from the novel H1N1 (swine flu) for several months after birth. That protection can be vital because babies younger than 6 months are especially vulnerable to illness but can't be vaccinated for the flu.
No. Like the regular flu nasal-spray flu vaccine, the swine flu nasal spray vaccine will not be recommended for moms-to-be. Nasal-spray vaccines can't cause the flu, but they contain a live, weakened flu virus and are only approved for healthy people ages 2 to 49 who are not pregnant.
It's fine for family members of pregnant women to get the nasal spray vaccine, though. There's no danger of catching the flu from them.
According to the experts, yes.
In the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services webcast about swine flu, ob-gyn Laura Riley, medical director of Labor & Delivery, Massachusetts General Hospital, said, "There’s NO benefit to waiting until you’re out of the first trimester. Get the vaccine when it becomes available, whether you’re in the first, second, or third trimester."
Some does and some doesn't.
Thimerosal contains tiny amounts of mercury and is used as a preservative in some vaccines. (Vaccines for children, other than certain flu shots, don't contain thimerosal. Manufacturers stopped using it in children's vaccines in 1999.)
The CDC considers thimerosal safe for pregnant women and the babies they carry, but because of public concern about the preservative, thimerosal-free swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines are being produced in single-dose syringes for pregnant women and small children. If you'd like to get a preservative-free dose, talk to your healthcare provider or other local providers of flu vaccines.
The swine flu shot vaccine packaged in multi-dose vials will contain thimerosal.
No, the regular seasonal flu shot won't prevent H1N1 (swine) flu and the swine flu shot won't prevent seasonal flu. The seasonal flu shot is aimed at certain strains of influenza virus expected to be common during the 2009-2010 flu season (but not the swine flu virus); the swine flu shot is aimed at the "novel H1N1" or swine flu virus.
It's fine to get both vaccines at once – preferably in different parts of the body (for example, one in the left arm and one in the right arm). But it's best to get each shot as soon as it becomes available, so don't delay getting one shot in order to combine them in one visit. You may miss your chance to get either.
Only one. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of one dose of 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine for people 10 years of age and older.
There's no easy test for determining whether someone has had H1N1 (swine) flu already. Many different infections, including influenza, can cause flu-like symptoms such as cough, sore throat, and fever. And unfortunately, infection with one strain of flu virus won't protect against other strains.
A few people have had a laboratory test this year showing that they were infected with the 2009 H1N1 influenza (swine flu) virus. If you're one of those few people, you don't need to be vaccinated against it. The CDC recommends that people who were actually tested for the virus check with their healthcare provider to make sure the test was either an RT-PCR or a viral culture showing 2009 H1N1 influenza.
On the other hand, if you have encountered the virus and been infected previously without knowing it, there's no harm in being vaccinated.
The side effects are expected to be similar to those from seasonal flu vaccines. The most common side effects are mild, and include soreness, redness, and tenderness or swelling where the shot was given. Some people experience headache, muscle aches, fever, nausea, and fainting. If there are side effects, they usually begin soon after you get the shot and may last as long as a day or two.
As with any vaccine, severe allergic reactions are very rare, but possible. Anyone who has a life-threatening allergy to eggs or to any other substance in the vaccine should not be vaccinated. (Chicken eggs are used as a culture for growing the flu virus that's used in flu vaccines.) Before getting the shot, be sure to let your healthcare provider know if you have any severe allergies, if you've ever had a severe allergic reaction to a flu shot, or if you've ever had Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
