To not get the flu vaccine

[Summerblaze100]

I'll start by saying that I'm not anti vaccine at all. I am fully vaccinated as are my other DC and I have just recently had the mumps vaccine as I am pg.

However for some reason I'm not comfortable with having the flu vaccine which I have just been offered. I've never had the vaccine before nor have I ever had flu. My dad had the vaccine once and said he was quite ill after it.

I am 35 weeks pg so only have 7 weeks at most left so I'm thinking it's not really worth it. Don't want to feel ill during my last few weeks of pg but I also don't want to put my baby at risk. AIBU to not want it or am I being stupid.

[harderandharder2breathe]

I've had the flu jab for several years and no issues at all

I would say do it because flu while pregnant or with a newborn would be horrible, far worse than any possible unwellness after the jab

[abigwideworld]

I'm also 35 weeks and I had mine done a few days ago at the same time as the whooping cough vaccine. I've had no bother with it at all, but I have had flu in the past and wouldn't want to go through that now. The nurse said it is far more dangerous for pg woman too.

[rogertherabbit]

I agree with the above poster. Had the jab myself for years without an issue. Just a bit of a sore arm

We all know someone who says they had a bad reaction to a vaccine. Doesn't mean you will

Go for it

[BasinHaircut]

Contrary to popular belief the flu vaccine will not give you the flu. However if you want any protection from flu for you and your baby then you should have it done.

Its quite unlikely to make you ill.

[EveOnline2016]

I have had it every year as an nhs worker I do get a little ill after having it only a minor cold, but I do it so I don't put my patients at risk.

[Rrross1ges]

I had flu last December. I lost three weeks and have no memory of Christmas because I was so ill. It was on a par with shingles (had that three years ago at the unusually young age of 40 and still get some pain). I'm getting the flu vaccine this year. I'm happy to pay for the privilege.

[MyBreadIsEggy]

I'll definitely be getting it.
I'm 35 weeks pg with DC2. Couldn't get it at the same time as my whooping cough vaccine because my dr surgery are trying to book all free flu jab patients into one Saturday clinic in October which is a PITA!!
I was skeptical about it when I had Dd, but did some scary reading - I wasn't aware how much more dangerous flu can be for pregnant women! And to be honest, 8 don't fancy the risk of contracting flu while taking care of my 17 month old and a brand new baby! Nothing worse than being on-your-arse ill, but still having to function enough to parent found that out the hard way a few months back when DH and I had a vomiting bug at the same time

[GardeningWithDynamite]

I've just had mine this morning (not pregnant but started having flu injections when pregnant with DS - they didn't do it when I had DD 8 years ago).

I'd honestly rather have the injection than have flu, knowing how awful it can be. It's (obviously) up to you what you do but the thought of looking after DC when you're ill really made me want to get the jab.

[lisaneedsarest]

I had flu while pregnant and was admitted to hospital and given strong iv anti biotics, anti sickness drugs and fluids. I was almost 39 weeks pregnant. I was then monitored daily as my waters had reduced to almost non existent levels. I was booked into be induced the day before my due date as it was too dangerous for me to pregnant any longer. Thankfully I went into labour two days before that and delivered a healthy baby naturally. It could have been very different. I would 100% get the flu jab if I was pregnant again and tend to pay to get one each year anyway as flu is so horrible.

[Elphame]

It's not terribly effective - provisional figures for last winter show around 55% effectiveness.

I won't be bothering.

[ProseccoBitch]

I will never have it again. I felt I was bullied into it by the nurse I saw when I went for a smear test (I have asthma) even though I didn't feel comfortable with it. I just don't like the idea of taking anything or being injected with anything unless it's essential. Anyway I had the jab and immediately afterwards got 'flu and felt horrendous for two weeks. I'm not saying it caused it but it certainly didn't prevent it.

[KondosSecretJunkRoom]

I've been dumped in hospital twice with the flu (I'm asthmatic). 55% effectiveness is good enough for me.

One of those times I was pregnant, that was properly shit.

[MrEBear]

Pregnancy reduces your immunity. Flu is nothing like the cold that many people think it is.
My experience is similar to Lisaneedsarest above.

35 weeks pregnant, high temperature appeared from no where, a cough, lethargic, lungs filled with fluid, hospitalised for a week on oxygen & a bundle of antiviral pills and antibiotics. Please don't underestimate the damage flu can do esp when pregnant.

[mathsmum314]

You can not get ill from the flu vaccine.
Have it for the sake of the baby.

[KentMum2008]

If you got flu immediately after the jab, chances are you'd already been exposed to the flu virus before you had the jab. It wouldn't have had time to become effective.
I get mine every year now. I had flu once when I was 22 and it was the worst 2 weeks of my life. I felt weak and useless for a good few weeks after too. Ever since then I've had a flu jab, paid for at first and then when I developed adult onset asthma at 26 I started to get it free. Even if I didn't get it free, I'd still have the jab. It's not worth suffering from something that is mostly preventable.

[Soubriquet]

I've had the flu vaccine twice

For each pregnancy

I get ill really easily. I was fine. No side effects at all

Got more side effects with the whooping cough jab. My arm swelled and was sore for a good two weeks

[sycamore54321]

Fully agree with others about the seriousness of flu in pregnancy - even women who are otherwise fully healthy can develop fatal flu in pregnancy.

For the poster who caught flu right after the injection, you do know about incubation periods right? It takes the vaccine about 15 days I think to amount an immune system response fully in you , it doesn't just work instantly from the moment of injection. You should have been advised of this by whoever administered it to you. In any case, I would read your story as an argument for getting immunised as early as possible in flu season, not as a cautionary tale.

Some years vaccines work more effectively than others as the virus mutates all the time and researchers need to make a judgement call regarding which strain will be dominant. On occasion, they may get it wrong and 'failure' rates are published. But even those years the vaccinated have significantly better protection than the non-vaccinated.

OP, talk to your doctor specifically about flu risk in pregnancy, not general risks, and be fully informed before making a decision.

[mathsmum314]

The vaccine doesn't contain any live viruses, so it can't cause flu.

It only protects you from the most common strains of the flu, but you can still get any of the many other strains going around. Which is why some people who have the vaccine and get the flu, think it was the cause.

The flu jab will protect both you and your baby.

Pregnant women have a higher chance of developing complications if they get flu, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy.

One of the most common complications of flu is bronchitis, a chest infection that can become serious and develop into pneumonia.

Other complications include: otitis media, septic shock, meningitis, & encephalitis.

If you have flu while you're pregnant, it could mean your baby is born prematurely or has a low birth weight, and may even lead to stillbirth or death in the first week of life.

[frikadela01]

Anyone who gets I'll straight after having the vaccine ( not counting usual preexisting health conditions) will have been exposed to the virus prior to getting the vaccine.
The majority of those people who do get Ill are probably also getting a cold, not the flu so would have gotten it regardless of ha in the vaccine or not.

Have the vaccine. As pp said,even if it is only 55% effective, that's better than nothing.

[MaisieDotes]

I had it last winter when pg with DC3.

He was born early Feb and six weeks later DH and the older two DC (one of whom was 18mo) got the flu. I was very relieved that neither I nor the baby got it. I wouldn't have been able to cope with a sick toddler and newborn and have been sick myself too.

[sycamore54321]

Oh and anecdote time, I've had the flu vaccine every year for at least a decade, sometimes when pregnant. I can't recall a single side effect apart from a slightly sore arm for 24 hours. I've also never had flu in a year when I've been vaccinated. Of course, individual reactions vary but you can get away scot-free like me

[MaisieDotes]

^ and obviously sick DD and the biggest baby of them all DH.

[Gottagetmoving]

I have had flu twice and I would hate to ever get it again. Apart from the severity of the illness itself it can lead to complications that last for ages. I pay to have the vaccine every year and 55% effectiveness is better than none.
Having flu when pregnant or as a new mum must be bloody awful.

[sepsisandAKI]

As other posters have said it's not a live vaccine so no chance of getting flu. You are more likely to have complications if you get flu while you're pregnant too. I don't understand why you wouldn't have it.

[nellypledge16]

As others have said it's a myth that you can develop flu from the flu jab, it would have to be a live vaccine and the flu jab isn't.

I've had it for years, as an asthma sufferer, including one time when I was pregnant, and the only problem I ever have is a sore stiff arm.

I had flu 20 years ago and it was horrific. I lost 2 weeks of my life, I was in intense pain, raging temp but was freezing cold, hallucinations etc.

I was always one of those people who said I had 'flu' when I had a bad cold, I've never said that since because they don't compare at all!

I would get it if I was you, not only for yourself but for your baby.