Flu Shot During Pregnancy

[Erikajo]

I'm 29 weeks pregnant and will definitely NOT be getting the flu shot while pregnant or any other time for obvious reasons.

However I have some friends who are also pregnant and they are planning on getting the flu shot simply because their doctors said they need to. When I mentioned the mercury in it, they just said "Well the doctor said it was trace amounts, so I don't think it's a big deal.":

Anyways, does anyone know of any good links with some good information regarding NOT getting the flu shot during pregnancy? Thanks.

[lactationmom]

Here are a couple good sites:

http://www.909shot.com/History/Newsl...70Reaction.pdf VERY GOOD, at the bottom of this article, on page 6, it talks about pregnant women getting this shot and brain damage to infants because of mercury.

http://mercuryexposure.org/index.php?article_id=584

http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller15.html
(not specific for pregnant women, but your friends could use this site as it really 'starts' the questioning of all vaccines from a MD perspective. He does mention getting a few around age 2, but by then doubt has already set in and most parents have done tons of research on their own)

I bet others have much better sites, these are the ones I have bookmarked. BTW, my SIL didn't listen to my words of advice regarding the flu shot in pregnancy and now my newphew of 22 months has severe speech delay, stopping growing in utero about the time of the shot and was born very small (at 5 pounds on time) and has had major physical delayment problems also. But, they also have had him get every other shot so I am sure it's multiple vaccines causing these problems, on top of the mercury in utero. I don't believe there is ANY study showing it's safe for a pregnant mom to get ANY mercury in pregnancy, why take the chance? Ugg, makes me sick.

[Pariah]

Here's what I found from a blingo search...

http://www.drfeder.com/pregnancy/flu-shot-pregnancy.htm

Is this safe for the baby? The CDC and doctors who recommend the flu shot during the second and third trimester feel it is safe. However, the flu shot contains mercury. Mercury can pass through the placenta and accumulate in the unborn child. Mercury is toxic and can cause damage to the brain and nervous system to the developing bodies of unborn babies, infants and young children.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...0/181636.shtml

In the past, pregnancy was a contraindication but now the CDC recommends flu vaccine for women more than 14 weeks pregnant. However this recommendation is controversial since most flu vaccines still contain the mercury preservative, Thimerosal, and mercury has been associated with brain damage and developmental delays in fetuses whose mothers were exposed to high levels of mercury during pregnancy.

And from Dr. Mercola...
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/10/vaccine_pregnant.htm

[Spy]

I have a good one! Just recently I translated it into Russian for the vaccination information website. It's really, really good, I promise
http://www.jpands.org/vol11no2/ayoub.pdf

[xmysticprincessx]

Originally Posted by Erikajo

However I have some friends who are also pregnant and they are planning on getting the flu shot simply because their doctors said they need to. When I mentioned the mercury in it, they just said "Well the doctor said it was trace amounts, so I don't think it's a big deal.":

tell your friends to ask their drs for the scientific studies done on pregnant women (and if some of your friends are high risk, tell them to ask for studies done on high risk pregnant women) that prove that the flu shot is safe for the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. the drs will not be able to find any studies. so the cdc may *feel* its safe, but they dont have the studies to back it up. and its only been recommended for pregnant women for maybe 3 years, so there really isnt any long-term evidence that would show if there were any problems or not.

i think the reason the cdc gives for why pregnant women should have flu shots is because they are at a higher risk of having complications with the flu since their immune system is down while pregnant. and since drs dont want to take risks with pregnant women, if they get the flu towards the end of pregnancy, they are more likely than a non-pregnant woman of being admitted to the hospital. (i wish i had a link for this, but i read it last winter. i'm sure someone else has this link!)

and one more thing about trace amounts... if there were trace amounts of poop (or something poisonous) in their dinner, would they eat it? using that same arguement of trace amounts, eating just a tiny tiny bit of poop shouldnt be that big of a deal.

[Plummeting]

It isn't "trace" amounts. It's full-strength, autism-causing 25 mcg of thimerosal - unless their docs specifically ordered the "thimerosal-free" version, which is doubtful.

[LongIsland]

I would make sure your pregnant friends look at the bottle before the vax is administered. If the bottle says ".01% thimerosal," that means there's 25 micrograms of thimerosal in that dose.

Isn't it just amazing that for thousands and thousands of years pregnant women have been able to give birth without ever having the influenza vaccine . . . but now pregnant women "need" it.

It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "there's a sucker born every minute," YKWIM?

[insider]

There’s another really good reason for not getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy. First take a look at what effect maternal influenza infection can have on fetal development:

Maternal Influenza Infection Causes Marked Behavioral and Pharmacological Changes in the Offspring
[J Neuroscience, Jan 1, 2003;23(1):297–302]
“Maternal viral infection is known to increase the risk for schizophrenia and autism in the offspring.”

Prenatal Viral Infection Leads to Pyramidal Cell Atrophy and Macrocephaly in Adulthood: Implications for Genesis of Autism and Schizophrenia
[Cell Mol Neurobio Feb 2002; 22,1:25-33]
“The results of these experiments provide preliminary evidence for a prenatal viral effect transmitted in utero on neuronal cell production and brain development which is seen as early as Day 0 and persists to adulthood.”

Serologic Evidence of Prenatal Influenza in the Etiology of Schizophrenia [Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:774-780]
“These findings represent the first serologic evidence that prenatal influenza plays a role in schizophrenia.”

“Prenatal human influenza viral infection... caused significant upregulation of 21 genes and downregulation of 18 genes in brain... Viral infection impacted genes involved in signal transduction/cell communication, solute transport, protein metabolism, energy metabolism, nucleic acid metabolism, immune response, and cell growth and maintenance.” [Synapse 57:91–99 (2005)]

This type of research has been cited as a reason for necessitating administration of the flu vaccine to pregnant women. Now the interesting thing is that the mechanism for how maternal influenza infection harms the fetus was, for a long time, unknown and assumed to be because of direct viral infection of the fetus. Prevent the infection, prevent the damage to the fetus. These recent articles are finally getting after the relevant question:

How does maternal viral infection exert its effects on fetal brain development? [Int. J. Devl Neuroscience 23 (2005) 299–305]

The larger question is this: how does viral infection of the mother affect fetal brain development?
[J Neuroscience, Jan 1, 2003;23(1):297–302]

A fundamental question arising from these results is whether the alterations in behavior that we observed in the offspring of infected mothers are attributable to viral infection of the fetus or to a reaction to the maternal immune response. [ibid.]

And here’s what recent research has shown:

Maternal influenza infection is likely to alter fetal brain development indirectly: the virus is not detected in the fetus
[Int. J. Devl Neuroscience 23 (2005) 299–305]
“the poly(I:C) result indicates that abnormalities in the offspring may be caused by the maternal anti-viral inflammatory response... microbial infection was not necessary to alter fetal brain development.”

“the altered fetal brain development that leads to behavioral abnormalities we see in the adult offspring of infected mothers is not due to influenza infection of the fetuses. Thus, the effects of maternal infection on fetal brain development are likely to be indirect, probably involving the maternal inflammatory response.” [ibid.]

“maternal viral infection has a profound effect on the behavior of adult offspring, probably via an effect of the maternal immune response on the fetus.” [J Neuroscience, Jan 1, 2003;23(1):297–302]

“Since influenza is believed to only rarely cross the placenta, an indirect effect on fetal brain development is the most plausible pathogenic mechanism linking it to an increased risk of schizophrenia. One such mechanism, previously considered, is that maternal IgG antibodies elicited by influenza traverse the placenta and crossreact with fetal brain antigens by molecular mimicry, thereby disturbing fetal brain development and increasing vulnerability to schizophrenia. Another potential immunologic mediator is an influenza-induced excess of maternal cytokines, which may damage the developing fetal brain.” [Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:774-780]

This makes flu vaccination during pregnancy a terrible idea. The damage caused to fetal brain development during maternal infection with influenza is the result of the maternal immune response (not the virus!). The maternal immune molecules that impair neural development of the fetus, will do so regardless of whether they were brought into existence by infection or vaccination.

[Erikajo]

Wow! Some great info! Thank you all very much! I'll definitely pass that on!

[Gitti]

I personally believe the reason why they recommend the flu vax during pregnancy is because they do NOT want the autism rate to go down.

Since they now took mercury out of most of the vaccines, if autism rates were to go way down, that is certainly proof that it was the culprit.

The autism rates have to stay up at any cost, even if they have to inject pregnant women with pure mercury...



JMO

[xtara2003x]

What should one do if they HAVE taken the flu shot while pregnant?

I'm due April 6, 07, and I received the flu shot November 3, 06. I admit, I wasn't fully informed of risks associated with the flu shot in pregnancy before I received the shot, as I simply trusted my midwives. Now that I have read a bit more about the risks, and the fact that it's only been recommended for about 3 years, I'm a bit..no I'm quite scared.

Along with being scared, I'm angry at myself that I didn't really even think about the risks of getting the flu shot, nor did I ask. I'm also angry at my midwives as I just assumed if my midwives were telling me that it was okay, that it would be okay. I never receieved the flu shot before, so I don't know why I just okay'd it to receive it while pregnant when I had researched every other possible pregnancy related issue.

How much is "a lot" of mercury, besides the "any amount is too much" as I already know that? I read that there's about 25 micrograms of mercury in the flu shot. I don't eat freshwater fish, and I don't live anywhere that has high amounts of mercury. Any bit of hope or reassurance for me?

:

Tara
EDD 4/6/07

[bri52582]

youve gotten some very good sites and rec's from the pp's.

ask your friends if they are avoiding fish bc of the mercury it contains...if they are listening to their dr's and everything they've read chances are they are. why would you do that just to turn around and inject it directly into your bloodstream where it could cause the most damage to the fetus??

common sense reasoning IMO

[13Sandals]

:

how do the docs live with themselves? 'Hey don't eat that can of tuna, it has mercury in it - but let me give you this little shot.' :

[bri52582]

tetanus question

i was trying to start a new thread, somehow i wound up here (dumb computer!!)
carry on

[xtara2003x]

Originally Posted by bri52582

youve gotten some very good sites and rec's from the pp's.

ask your friends if they are avoiding fish bc of the mercury it contains...if they are listening to their dr's and everything they've read chances are they are. why would you do that just to turn around and inject it directly into your bloodstream where it could cause the most damage to the fetus??

common sense reasoning IMO

I am not the origional poster..........