As the flu season rages across the U.S., a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine says the flu vaccine does not increase risk of fetal loss. On the contrary, the research found that the vaccination may actually prevent some deaths, because getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely.
The latest study, perhaps the largest to examine the safety and value of flu vaccination during pregnancy, was led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Researchers looked at data on more than 113,000 pregnancies. Of those, 492 ended in the death of the fetus. They calculated that the risk of fetal loss was nearly twice as high for women who weren't vaccinated as it was in vaccinated mothers.
Medical scientists have long known that the protection conferred by vaccines for pregnant women far outweighs any possible risk of harm from the shots, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. Unfortunately moms-to-be have a strong tendency to avoid getting vaccinated. This new study confirms the importance of pregnant women getting their flu shot. To stay abreast of current news on vaccinations please like our newly launched Facebook page, Vaccines and Infections.
