Flu shot offers surprising benefits for pregnant women; Vaccine may fight stillbirth, preterm birth, and very low birth weight

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

A new study announced Tuesday finds the H1N1 flu vaccine not only can protect you from getting sick but can actually benefit your baby.

Researchers from the University of Ottawa in Canada examined data from more than 55,000 child births in Ontario during an outbreak of H1N1, comparing mothers who were vaccinated to those who weren’t.

While prior research has found that pregnant women can safely get the flu shot at any stage of their pregnancies — something many doctors vehemently support — the new findings associate H1N1 vaccinations with a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth, and very low birth weight.

“These are all significant results, but especially interesting is the finding that the vaccinated mothers were one-third less likely to have a stillborn child,” said study researcher Deshayne Fell, a graduate student at McGill University who works with the birth record database. “This is one of the only studies large enough to evaluate the association between maternal flu vaccination and stillbirth — a very rare event.”

 

So much for the disinformation about dangers to pregnant women: in fact, Spanish Flu and the recent H1N1 pandemic were both especially dangerous for unprotected pregnant women.

See on www.nydailynews.com