Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits in large study

[tetano]

Getting a flu shot during pregnancy provides unanticipated benefits to the baby, according to the authors of a large population-based study examining the issue. Specifically, the study showed that H1N1 vaccination during the pandemic was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and extremely small babies at birth.

Researchers at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), the CHEO Research Institute and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) used data from Ontario's birth record database, BORN, to examine 55,570 single-child births that took place in Ontario during the H1N1 pandemic. The resulting paper, "H1N1 Influenza Vaccination during Pregnancy and Fetal and Neonatal Outcomes," was recently published by the American Journal of Public Health.

The study shows that, compared to pregnant women who were not immunized against H1N1, mothers who received the H1N1 vaccination were:

34% less likely to have a stillbirth,
28% less likely to deliver before 32 weeks, and
19% less likely to give birth to a child with a birth weight for gestational age in the bottom third percentile.

"These are all significant results, but especially interesting is the finding that the vaccinated mothers were one-third less likely to have a stillborn child," says lead author Deshayne Fell, an epidemiologist for BORN Ontario. "Thihttp://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-flu-shot-pregnancy-unexpected-benefits.htmls is one of the only studies large enough to evaluate the association between maternal flu vaccination and stillbirth?a very rare event."

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http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-flu-shot-pregnancy-unexpected-benefits.html

 

[tetano]

Re: Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits in large study

See the original article here

 

[tetano]

Re: Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits in large study

H1N1 flu shot linked to lower rates of death, preterm birth in infants

Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press

Pregnant women in Ontario who received a flu shot during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic were less likely to give birth to a very preterm baby or to lose their baby shortly after birth, a new study shows.

They were also less likely to give birth to a baby who was born small for its gestational age, said the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study suggests ? but cannot prove ? that flu shots had a beneficial impact for fetuses as well as for the women who carried them during the pandemic.

The study is based on records of 55,570 women who gave birth to a single child in Ontario between Nov. 2, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

It's been known for some time that pregnant women can experience severe illness if they contract seasonal flu while pregnant. And accounts from earlier pandemics suggest pregnant women were among those at highest risk during these rare outbreaks caused by new viruses. Despite that, progress has been slow in getting this group to accept flu shots.

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http://www.citytv.com/toronto/cityn...lower-rates-of-death-preterm-birth-in-infants

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits in large study

Good news, although it is a shame that they did not present the data for vaccination in the first trimester and look at rates of miscarriage for this period to clearly show if this does or does not present a risk; this remains an area of concern to expectant mothers.

However based on this data, flu vaccination in the second or third trimester appears to confer benefits to both mother and child; high risks of maternal severe infection and mortality with pH1N1 are most frequently associated with the third trimester of pregnancy or post-natally.