H1N1 Vaccine Harmless for Pregnant Women

Vaccinating women against H1N1 virus during pregnancy is safe, finds a study.

The on Norwegian pregnant women who received a vaccine against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus showed no increased risk of pregnancy loss, while expectant mothers who experienced influenza during pregnancy had an increased risk of miscarriages and still births.

Swine Flu | Swine Influenza | Hog Flu | Pig Flu
Swine flu, a type of influenza caused by a new strain of the H1N1 Type A influenza virus has originated from the pigs. Winter always brings along the chills and the flu, make sure you're safe this season.

The study suggests that influenza infection may increase the risk of fetal loss.

Scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) conducted the research following the H1N1 influenza pandemic that took place between spring 2009 and fall 2010. The researchers at the NIH were from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Norwegian public health officials had urged pregnant women to be vaccinated. However, media reports of pregnancy losses after flu shots caused some expectant mothers to forgo vaccination.

Pregnancy and Complications
In-depth guide for expecting mothers to overcome health complications related to early or late pregnancy. Anemia, urinary infection, diabetes, premature labor to name a few.

First author Siri Haberg, M.D., Ph.D., of the NIPH and colleagues initiated the study to help address the question of vaccine safety, by taking advantage of Norway's excellent registries and medical records system. Haberg spent one year of her postdoctoral fellowship in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch before returning home to Norway during the pandemic.

NIEHS researcher and co-author Allen Wilcox, M.D., Ph.D., said the NIPH researchers combined data from obstetrical visits, birth records, and vaccination registries to investigate whether the influenza vaccination posed a risk to pregnancy.

Swine Flu Or Pig Flu Facts
Is the world in the grip of its first influenza pandemic in forty years? It definitely seems so! The current swine flu or pig flu disaster traces its origin to the badly- hit State of Mexico.

The study found that influenza infection increased the risk of fetal loss by up to twofold. Influenza vaccination did not increase the risk of loss. Instead, the results suggest that vaccination reduces the risk of fetal loss.

"Most important is that vaccinations protect pregnant women against influenza illness, which could be harmful for both the mother and the baby," Wilcox said.

Pregnancy and Antenatal Care
What is Antenatal care and its importance during pregnancy for mother and baby, with details on the medical test preformed during the first visit to the doctor.

"If pregnant women are worried about their fetus, then getting a flu shot is a good thing to do," he added.

Haberg added, "Pregnant women should find it reassuring that we found no harmful effects on the fetus associated with H1N1 vaccination."

The findings were published online recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Source-ANI