Doc had suggested a flu shot for my 6 week pregnant wife. We both have been opposed to the flu shot but I am looking for pro and con reasons on this? What have you heard?
my doc told me that there was no research suggesting that the flu shot (because it is made up of dead flu that will produce antibodies in your system) is dangerous in the first trimester.
i too went through what you are going through now...i am 14 w, and my doc suggested that i get one at 7 weeks when i questioned her at my appt....it took me almost a month to find one available in my area!~
imo opinion....the benenfits far outweigh the risks....high fevers in a pregnant woman can cause fetal brain damage, and in extreme cases, even fetal death ( im not trying to scare you, just stating facts)....unless your wife has a known allergy to eggs (which is the base for the flu shot), i personally would suggest that she get one asap.
I think different doctors have different views on this lol I've read in "what to expect..." That most experts advise against the flu jab in the 1st trimester but recomend it in the 2nd and 3rd though it's considered safe at any stage of pg. Saying this I'm in my 3rd trimester now and my doctor advised against it. sorry I haven't got a straight answer but I hope this kinda helped
You (your wife, whoever) may get sick just BECAUSE of the shot.....I wouldn't get that crap injected in me or anyone that I love. There is TONS of info out there on this, just type in 'pros and cons of the flu shot' on your search engine and you will get your info!!!
IMO, natural immunity is WAY better than 'chemical' immunity, which is nice in theory but, doesn't work so, why do it.
doobee....the information you gave is 5 years outdated...so many things have changed...and not only that, but more pregnant women are hospitalized for the flu itself than for side effects of the vaccine! (as the vaccine DOES NOT contain live flu virus)
chappy....my best suggestion would have to be that you should talk to several docs, call your local or state dept of health, and do some research
I just remember the news stories last year -- around the time the flu epidemic hit, I was frantically trying to get any information I could because my son was born a few months earlier with a genetic lung disease and wasn't able to be vaccinated for another two months and THEN they ran out of vaccine. BTW, the vaccine my son was finally able to get was thermasoil (mercury FREE).
okay the Center for disease control says it is OK for women in the first trimester now....the benifits far outweight the risks..... go to the CDC website and see for yourself...
IF YOU GET THE FLU AND A HIGH FEVER YOUR BABY COULD HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE OR EVEN DIE!!
ALSO YOUR BABY HAS A 3 X GREATER CHANCE OF DEVELPOING SCHIZOFRANIA LATER IN ITS LIFE.....THAT IS A FACT.
go to a search engine and type it in.....it is all there.
i got the shot when i was about 10 weeks along in this pregnancy, and i would do it again in another pregnancy....
i know this is a hard decision and i wish you luck in making it...
remeber the flu is air born, all you have to do is be within 3 feet of a person who has it who coughs or sneezes and when you breath it in...you have the flu. if you are not immune.
i got it last year (wasn't preg at the time) and got high fevers with in the next week. and was sick as a dog... i am in my third trimester and they couldn't pay me to get it this year!
__________________
4 Kids in 2 1/2 years...
ready to put my body back together!
I asked my doctor about it and she said that some people react to the shot and get sick anyway. She left it up to me, but said she wouldn't push anyone to get it. I haven't had the flu in a few years since I had my tonsils removed and tend to react to things like that anyway, so I decided against it. If you are against it, don't let anyone push you into something just because you are pregnant. You have the right to make your own choices in any vaccine, test, etc. that you are offered. If it makes you uncomfortable, don't do it.
i got the shot at 24 weeks pregnant and had NO side effects but Im getting mixed reviews pertaining to this subject. Many sites tell you that pregnant women SHOULD get a shot, that the flu can be very serious to them. Fevers can cause all sorts of problems including schizoprenia, etc. but on the flipside to this argument i hear that the Thermosial/Mercury contained in these vaccines is very harmful to a growing fetus, possibly being a cause for autism. but if mercury is a cause of autism then why only now in the 90's and now is there an extreme rise in autistic children when mercury has been in vaccines and other things since the 1930's?....why were those generations fine?....We state that we are taking the mercury out of most vaccines with the exception of the flu vaccine so why is the autism rate still rising?...
Last edited by krissym531; 11-17-2006 at 05:12 AM.
I got a flu shot last week. I am 10 weeks pregnant. No side effects at all just sore from the shot in that arm. Its yours & your wifes personal decision to make. I just felt safer doing it rather than not doing it.
I asked my OB and she said it was perfectly fine to have the shot. I was 14w when I had it.
She says if it was a couple of years ago, she would had advised to wait till second trimester to be in the safe side. Now you can have it at any time.
My work gives the flu shots every year for free. When i came in the room I asked again to the nurses if it was okay for me since I was pregnant. They said it was perfectly fine.
I think the benefits outweighs the risk.
BTW, there is another interesting thread about this issue: "flu shot".. you can read more there.
The American College of Obstectrics & Gynecology (ACOG) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) both recommend that high risk people get the flu shot. Pregnant women are included in the list of high risk people...
From [url]http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5441a4.htm:[/url]
"Women infected with influenza virus during pregnancy are at increased risk for serious complications and hospitalization (1). During 1997--2003, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) included healthy pregnant women who would be in their second or third trimester of pregnancy during the influenza season among those persons at high risk for whom influenza vaccination was indicated. Also included were women at any stage of pregnancy with certain chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, diabetes mellitus, or heart disease. ACIP emphasized that the influenza vaccine was safe for breastfeeding mothers and their infants and that household contacts of children aged <2 years also should be vaccinated. However, despite these recommendations, only 13% of pregnant women received influenza vaccination in 2003. To assess understanding of the ACIP recommendations among obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), with support from CDC, surveyed a national sample of OB/GYNs in May 2004. The results of this study indicated that 52% of OB/GYNs supported the use of influenza vaccination during pregnancy in the first trimester for healthy women, 95% supported use in the second and third trimesters, and 63% reported that they would recommend vaccination to women with diabetes who were at any stage of pregnancy and to women who were breastfeeding. "
Seems pretty clear cut to me for my own personal decision-making. Each person has to make up her own mind on whether it's appropriate to get the flu shot or not when pregnant. But please, let's keep the discussion civil.
sorry I haven't got a straight answer but I hope this kinda helped
