Flu vaccine during pregnancy protects babies
Washington: A new collaborative study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues has found that immunization with influenza vaccine during pregnancy might reduce likelihood of newborns being hospitalized for the flu.The study said infants born to mothers who received the influenza (flu) vaccine while pregnant are nearly 50 percent less likely to be hospitalized for the flu than infants born to mothers who did not receive the vaccine while pregnant.
“It is recommended that all pregnant women receive the influenza vaccine during pregnancy because it is known that pregnant women have increased morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and in the immediate postpartum period if they get the flu,” said Katherine A. Poehling, an associate professor of pediatrics and lead author on the study.
‘’We also know that mothers pass antibodies through the placenta to the baby. This study showed us that receiving the influenza vaccine during pregnancy not only protects the mother, but also protects the baby in the early months of life,” she said.
The study appeared in the June issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
ANI
First Published: Friday, June 24, 2011, 00:00
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