TimesOnline has just published an article on the NEW swine flu vaccine - and recommends that pregnant women ask for this in addition to last year's if they had it.

[JosephineClaire]

Has anyone else heard this?

I had a swine flu vaccine at about 10 weeks - I'm now wondering if I need another at 34 weeks...

www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article2746397.ece

"Each year, seasonal flu strains contribute to an estimated 8,000 deaths each winter, but vaccines have to be reformulated each winter to match the current flu strains in circulation.

About 4.88 million doses of a specially-formulated vaccine against swine flu were administered to priority groups in England last year, including pregnant women and children under-5s.

As well as swine flu, this year?s seasonal vaccine will guard against two other flu strains, and is a different product to those produced during the pandemic."

I'm just wondering if this one is different to the one I had in the spring (which I assume was last year's vaccine)

And if so, should I ask for a 'new' one??

why do pregnant women "need" the flu vaccine? As it's not something I'd ever consider getting - do I really need to think about it now I'm pregnant? Is the baby at risk from the flu?

According to the reports I've read, and according to my midwife, pregnant women and new babies are very high risk - so I think it's definitely worth thinking about.

Quote from this particular article:

David Salisbury, the Government?s Director of Immunisations, said that it was impossible to predict how the virus would behave as it circulated alongside other flu strains this winter.

Children and adults who had caught the virus or received a separate swine flu vaccine last year may have some residual immunity, he said. But he added that it would be ?foolhardy? for those in at-risk groups ? including over-65s and pregnant women ? to refuse to have the vaccine.

?Not to have the vaccine because you are prejudiced against swine flu is putting yourself at unnecessary risk,? he said.
?As we know that this virus can pose additional risks to pregnant women, we are recommending this year that all pregnant women are vaccinated.?

Recent studies suggest that pregnant women were four times more likely than other groups to be treated in hospital with complications from the H1N1 virus last year, and were also more likely to die as a result of contracting the virus.

I've been "invited" to have the seasonal flu jab including swine flu vaccination. The letter said that if you had one last year you don't need one this year (think they were referring to the swine flu bit).

If it helps, AFAIK (used to work in NHS press office) the swine flu vaccine used is not live, so you don't get a reaction in the way that you would to a live immunisation.

No thanks

Thanks Comtessa, that's interesting to know.

If they say my 10 weeks vaccine from last year's batch is OK, I'll leave it - but if my GP recommends the new one I will definitely take it. I don't understand why anybody would take the risk.

is there a risk though? Swine flu was by & large a big non-event wasn't it?

It wasnt a non-event to the people who got it. There were a lot of very ill pregnant women on our local intensive care unit last year.
I was pg at the time and had the Pandemrix as soon as I could.

I think Im right in saying that one of the mnetters lost her baby at 36 weeks after contracting swine flu it was a dreadful thread to read.

As a pregnant woman you are 4 times more likely than anyone else to catch flu viruses.

I really dont understand why people in this country are so against vaccination, I feel damn lucky to live in the West where vaccines are free and available to me and my children. Yes there are risks but I take a risk everytime I leave the house, the risk is smaller than the risk of contracting flu

Well said mosschops. I to don't understand why people would choose to ignore a recognised and very real danger to both yourself and your unborn baby, just in case of a theoretical and unproven risk that may or may not be there.

yes obviously the people who got it were affected - but there was a lot of "we're all going to get swine flu and die" hysteria everywhere for ages, when actually relatively few people got it, perhaps no more than get the flu anyway. It certainly wasn't the pandemic that was widely forecast, either in UK or anywhere else.

I would genuinely like to know what the threat is to unborn children - if anyone knows.

i might be wrong but have heard that contracting flu in third trimester of pregnancy can have am impact on a baby's frontal lobe development - which could have implications on their behavioural development.
can't remember where i read/learned this though

A symptom of flu is a temperature baby's in the womb cannot sweat so have no way of cooling down. This can lead to developmental problems, fetal distress, miscarriage.

Just one of the reasons it's best NOT to get flu while pregnant if you can take somthing to prevent this why wouldn't you?

I'll be saying no!

What Mosschops said.

Also, perhaps one of the reasons we didn't have a pandemic is because of the vaccine programme. A crazy thought but there it is.

I have never had flu but DS and DH had it last year (swine or otherwise - wasn't sure but still have DS the swine flu jab in case) and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I haven't had the flu jab before (even though I'm a front line worker in the nhs) because I've always had a really 'good constitution' .I can't remember ever having the flu or even a bad cold
However I am going to have the jab this year because I have been unwell pretty much since conception. I think when you're pregnant your immune system gets 'damped down' a bit and that makes you susceptable to every germ going. I figure if I get sick the baby gets sick so am not going to risk it.

I had swine flu last year, and as a fit, healthy 30 year old found (rarely unwell) the whole thing horrific. It would have been terrifying if pg. I could barely eat or sleep and would be constantly showering, changing sheets (well Mum was, I was so ill she came up to London to look after me, whilst DH was at work) just to find myself drenched with sweat within minutes.

I agree that it didn't reach the pandemic proportions predicted, which were as ever fuelled by the media's histrionics, but I wouldn't risk getting ill like that whilst pg, as I just can't see how the baby wouldn't suffer from the days of high temperatures, which are known to cause development disorders and increase risk of MC.