Flu Shot in pregnancy?

[WifeofAnt]

I know this is still kind of far off but what are your thoughts? I've never gotten a flu shot before (even my parents who got us fully vaxed didn't get it for us) and I don't see what the big deal is.

[nia82]

Not getting it... I never get it and especially in pregnancy I wouldn't get it. It wasn't even recommended when I had DS. I know people's opinions vary greatly on this subject. As for me, I am not comfortable with the ingredients in the shot and willing to take the risk to catch the flu. I never had the flu, I had swine flu last year and it was just 5 days of a bad cold. I have plenty of vitamins and homeopathics to help me through flu in case I catch it. There are many things to read about this, but one thing said that the inflammational response to the flu itself is similar to the one the shot causes, and that's what is dangerous to the baby. Sorry for the bad wording, it was put much better by a doctor... A little googling will help.

In case you do opt for it, do not get it before 16 weeks (recommendation back home where they are much more cautious with drugs in pregnancy) and only choose one that has no mercury (single dose vial, hard to come by). You can also compare the different brands to see what you feel more comfy with (btw, the shot clinic on base/post doesn't have the mercury free ones, at least not at Vandenberg nor Warren AFB). Also be aware that this year's flu shot will have the swine flu shot incorporated into it. Baeh. It's hard enough to track down a mercury free shot for hubbie so he can avoid the military mandated Flumist!

[lillymonster]

I posed this question a few weeks ago and it was moved over to the vaccine forum

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...276&highlight=

After reading some of the posts, I decided not to get it.

[miso_soup]

I chose not to get it, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's not flu season (I'm due in October), so the chances of getting flu are minimal anyway. Secondly, I've never had a flu vaccine, and I've never had flu. It just didn't seem necessary, you know? And even if I do get flu before the baby is born, I am confident my immune system can fight it off, pregnant or otherwise. I'm not sure where I stand on vaccinations in general yet (still researching), so I'm not pro-vax OR anti-vax at this stage - this one just seemed like a no-brainer, to me.

[MamaMonica]

Moved to Vaccinations

[ema-adama]

Hey DDC mama,

In my mind there are two big issues relating to flu vaccination during pregnancy.

One, just because women are more at risk of comlications of influenza during pregnancy, does not mean the flu vaccine works for pregnant women. Ask your doctor for evidence of the flu vaccine being effective in pregnant women.

Two, there have been no safety studies done on the practice of vaccinating pregnant women against the flu. No studies that follow infants for more than days done on the babies born to women who were vaccinated for the flu. No one has any evidence to tell you that it is safe.

If you do decide to go ahead and get the vaccine, make sure it is the thimerasol free one. From my understanding it is the mulitvials that have the mercury in them. Read the label on the vaccine, as I have heard of mothers being told it is mercury free and reading the label only to see that the vaccine actually contained mercury.