HHS HealthBeat (October 12, 2009)

Flu vaccination for mom and baby

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ted Pestorius with HHS HealthBeat.

Getting immunized against the flu benefits a pregnant woman and her baby. Experts say her vaccination also gives the baby a lower risk of getting the flu during its first 6 months.

Despite that, of all the adults who should get vaccinated, pregnant women are the least likely to do so. So researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined survey data, to see why that is.

The CDC’s Dr. Indu Ahluwalia:

[Dr. Indu Ahluwalia speaks] "Among the reasons that women normally don’t get the influenza vaccination, physician did not mention anything about the influenza vaccine during their pregnancy."

Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu vaccines for pregnant women are recommended.

The study is in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ted Pestorius.

Last revised: May 7, 2011