Two new studies show that pregnant women who are given flu shots during their pregnancy can reduce the risk of having children born prematurely or with low birth rate. [The studies did not include women vaccinated for the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.]
An article in Science News, November 21, 2009, entitled Flu shots for moms-to-be benefit babies, reports on research conducted in Georgia and Bangladesh.
Saad Omer of Emory University in Atlanta identified over 4,000 pregnant women of whom 15% had received a flu shot. Those who received the flu shot were overall 40% less likely to have a baby born prematurely and 70% less likely to have a premature baby if the mother received a flu shot during peak flu season.
The second study was conducted by Mark Steinhoff at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and a Bangladeshi team. They found that babies born to flu-vaccinated women in Bangladesh were less likely to get the flu in their first year of life. On average, women who didn’t get flu shots gave birth to babies weighing about a half-pound less than those born to women getting the shot.
The article goes on to say that flu vaccination rates in the United States are "dismal". Only 15 -21% of pregnant women receive flu shots during flu season.
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