By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger
A recent study shows that pregnant women who get the flu shot are doing something great for their babies - reducing risk of prematurity and low birth weight.
The US study from Emory University showed that during the whole flu season (October to May), babies born to vaccinated moms were 40 percent less likely to come early. Babies born during the months when the most flu was reported (usually between late November and early March) were 70 percent less likely to be born prematurely.
Other benefits of maternal flu shots to babies include:
- Higher birth weight - babies born to moms who had the shot weighed half a pound more than those born to unvaccinated mothers.
- Protection from flu - babies born to vaccinated moms were less likely to get the flu in their first year of life.
Unfortunately, less than 25 percent of pregnant women get the flu shot in any given season. There are a number of reasons for this - typically, pregnant women are reluctant to get shots or take medicine. Additionally, obstetricians often do not get the vaccine or do not know how to store it properly, according to some experts.
While the above studies looked at seasonal flu vaccines, it is even more important that pregnant women get vaccinated against H1N1 (swine flu), as that virus has proven deadly for pregnant women. Pregnant women are in the highest priority category for receiving the H1N1 shot.
For more information, read this article on About.com's Pregnancy site: What Pregnant Women Need to Know about the H1N1 Flu
Per Dr. Mercola:
Is the Vaccine Safe for Pregnant Women? Nobody Knows!
If you are a pregnant woman, you and your unborn child may be the most defenseless of all potential vaccine casualties in the national infuenza vaccine experiment.
Barbara Loe Fisher states she is very concerned about the issue of pregnant women getting flu shots because of the lack of scientific data about the effects of this vaccine—particularly the H1N1 component—on pregnant women and their unborn babies.
She states:
“Last summer the NIH announced they were doing studies in children, adults and pregnant women with the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. About 120 pregnant women were supposed to be enrolled in a study in early September… We have yet to see any announcement of the results of those studies.”
And without any scientific evidence about safety, are you supposed to blindly accept that flu vaccines are safe for you and your unborn child?
Here’s another startling fact making this year’s vaccination policy even more unconscionable.
Flu vaccine has now been officially listed as a Category C drug.
What does this mean exactly?
Category C is for drugs that do not have enough human or animal studies to establish safety, OR adverse fetal effects have been seen in animal studies but there is little human data.
According to FDA:
“Category C drugs are drugs that are more likely to cause problems for the mother or fetus. Also includes drugs for which safety studies have not been finished. The majority of these drugs do not have safety studies in progress. These drugs often come with a warning that they should be used only if the benefits of taking them outweigh the risks.
If you are a pregnant woman, your doctor may be pressuring you to get a drug that is not approved for you! This is just idiotic.
Thimerasol-containing vaccines are considered hazardous waste and can’t be thrown into a garbage can, poured down a sink or flushed down a toilet because of the mercury—they’re considered environmentally toxic. Yet, they want to inject them into your baby?
Why would anyone, pregnant or otherwise, want to be injected with a substance that is too toxic to dispose of down a drain?… “