Pregnant?
Then you might be interested to learn that according to new research, flu-shots for pregnant women might have major benefits for them and their babies.
And this advice still rings true even if the mums have previously – before falling pregnant – recieved flu vaccinations.
“As soon as we know you are pregnant, you should get a flu shot. The sooner the better,” said study co-author Dr. Octavio Ramilo, chief of the infectious diseases division at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, in a new WebMD report.
The reason? Not just because the flu is a more serious illness to contract if you are pregnant, but also because the shot serves to protect babies for months after birth too, before their regular vaccination program kicks off.
In a press release, co-author of the study, Lisa Christian from Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, explained they wanted to investigate the myth that pregnant women who had gotten a flu shot in the past year don’t need another, as prior studies suggested the flu shot was the best way to protect mums and babies—but they also showed people who get a flu shot annually will gradually have lower antibody responses.
And according to Christian, this new study provided the researchers with enough evidence to safely say that a flu shot is benefitial to all pregnant women – regardless of whether or not they had gotten this vaccine before. In fact, Christian and her team say they think expectant mothers should make this a top priority.
“The good news is that we found that the benefits of maternal vaccination for the baby were not affected by prior vaccination in the mothers,” said Christian, whose team tested blood from babies’ umbilical cords.
That is especially important as babies won’t get their own shots until weeks after birth, so the antibodies we pass down are incredibly important.
