The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all pregnant women get a flu shot during any trimester of their pregnancy to protect themselves and their growing babies from influenza.
Changes in the immune system, heart and lungs during pregnancy make expectant moms more susceptible to dangerous complications, such as pneumonia, that may require hospitalization.
In addition, the flu can be dangerous to a fetus. The virus has been associated with preterm labor, developmental disorders and even stillbirth.
However, there’s growing concern that a recent flu vaccination, say in the year prior, could actually weaken flu resistance in pregnant women when they received a new flu shot during their pregnancy.
So, the question remains should expectant moms get a flu shot if they’ve had one recently?
A new study found that both mom and her baby will be well-protected by a flu vaccine given during pregnancy, regardless of whether she received one recently.
The study, published recently in the journal Vaccine, tested blood from 141 pregnant women. Fifty of them hadn’t received flu shots the previous year, and 91 of them had.
The findings revealed pregnant women who had been vaccinated earlier did have less protection against the flu a month after being vaccinated a second time. However, the protection levels against influenza among all the women were the same at the time of delivery.
In addition, the flu protection levels among their newborns were not significantly different.
So with cold and flu season upon us, if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant it’s time to get vaccinated and protect you and your growing baby from the influenza virus.
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