U.S. health officials stress the importance of pregnant women getting the 2009 H1N1 flu shot when the vaccine becomes available.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the H1N1 flu has hit pregnant women especially hard. About 700 cases have been confirmed in pregnant women since late April, about 100 pregnant women have required admission to intensive care units, and 28 pregnant women have died from the H1N1 flu, the CDC reported earlier this month.
“Because pregnant women who get influenza have a greater chance for serious complications, it is important they receive both the 2009 H1N1 flu shot and the seasonal flu shot. Receiving these vaccines is the best way pregnant women can protect themselves – and their newborns – against the flu,” said Rosalie Pepe, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Cooper University Hospital.
For millions of women in the United States, 40 weeks of pregnancy usually progress without serious complications. For some, however, existing or new health issues with themselves or their unborn babies put them in the “high risk” category.
