Now I am worried about S.flu...

[laurawantsababy]

Here This was reported in Australia today.

How can 2 countries give completly different advice? Im 11 weeks pg and very worried now.

[laurawantsababy]

I didnt see that thread! It is scary especially as we are told to carry on as usual!

[bumpsoon]

Im a nurse and have to say that i think the 'big one' might be on its way ,ceertainly all the nhs are preparing for a major incident this winter . All staff will be offered the vaccine when it comes available ,not sure if i will be allowed it yet ,but the rule is if you are symptom free, you work,regardless

[bumpsoon]

You have to remember though that Oz is in the middle of their winter and so peak seasonal /swine flu time. Id only really worry when we get to october here

[laurawantsababy]

I have just seen that WHO say that the vaccine wont be ready until the end of the year?

I hadnt thought that they in their winter. If only we could hibernate!

[bumpsoon]

I was told it will be available to frontline staff probably end of august ,im due december so will go on maternity in november ,gives me a good month or so of working with people with swine flu

[bumpsoon]

Mind you ,i work with people now with all manner of germs /viruses/disease etc so im hoping my immune system is up to most things bar small pox ,although think im going to spend a lot of time getting close to cows just to cover that one

[mrsbean78]

Hi there bumpsoon

I'm also in the NHS, in community/schools as an AHP though, so a lot less contact with germs/viruses/diseas (apart from snotty kids breathing in my face for up to an hour at a time, which has to count for something )

I am also moderately-severely asthmatic, on high doses of inhaled steroids (Seretide 250) and although it's mostly under control, I have a history of getting quite significantly ill and needing to be hospitalised etc in Oct/November (usually when the clocks go back). Trouble is, Junior is coming mid-November.. and I will have had a half-term back in school by then..

I notice that they are going to advise limited travel/avoiding crowds for pregnant women.. so it seems that the risk is 'stepping up', but I don't know. Like you, I've been told by OH that I'm to come to work until I have symptoms but I can't help but think that would be too late. Meanwhile, GP is quite dismissive of swine flu in general - doesn't 'really' believe in it!

So confusing.

Still, wondering if I should take early mat leave, better to be safe than sorry and all of that?

[mrsbean78]

PS here is link re: staying home (for now)
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6719356.ece

[AngelaCarleen]

I'm in the NHS too, I'll be starting maternity leave just before christmas (two christmas off yey!!). I work on a childrens ward, there's no way I can get the majority of my patients to not sneeze in my face , but having said that it's staff I'm most worried about. The other day someone came in sneezing and snotty saying her son was being treated with tamiflu. WTF, why have you come in to work, selfish cow . Sorry, rant over.

I think I'll just be holding my breath until I go blue and washing my hands until the skin falls off .

[MarshaBrady]

Australia would be a response to the 11 in intensive care, here they have just increased the prominence of message to pg to avoid crowded places - on radio four this morning. would say in response to recent pg incident.
The strength of message will differ due to this, if it gets worse here I reckon it will get stronger. It did make me concerned too, I linked it.
On radio four now.

[blondiep14]

So, looking at the bbc website this morning I can not go on holiday now? (Will be 20ish weeks pg and have a 20m old DS) .

[Blocka]

H girls, need a quick show of advice hands!! I a 13 weeks pg and supposed to be travelling to London from Newcastle tomorrow for a semi-important meeting. Round trip will involve 4 trains and 2 tubes.

Should I cancel given todays news, or am I over-reacting!!!

A show if hands would be great to help me make up my mind x

[mumbot]

Blocka - stay at home and dial in to the meeting via a conference call if you can x

[mumbot]

So does that mean we need to avoid going to the cinema too? We were supposed to be seeing harry potter tonight and I'm 6 weeks pg!

[Brasso4]

I think we need to be really careful about panicking about swine flu. I am due to go to the USA (at 11 weeks) on Tuesday and have every intention of still going. We as a country have far better medical access than in 1918/9 which everyone quotes as a similar epidemic. It is worrying that our immune systems are lower but apart from locking ourselves in our homes there is no way to avoid the risk.

You are still at very little risk of complications (there are a lot of pregnant women around the world) and if we avoided all risks in life, we would do nothing. Yes, perhaps we do need to be more careful - hand washing etc but OHs will have to go to work and could bring it home!

Don't forget too that people are no longer being swabbed for swine flu in the UK, so lots of these figures might simply be people with the common cold - I have had a stinker over the past fortnight but bet if I had phoned the NHS with my initial symptoms (although I have never had a temperature) I would have become a statistic.

[Blocka]

Thanks mumbot. Maybe you should wear a face mask at the cinema! A Harry Potter one so you blend in!! lol

Thanks for advice, I think I will do that x

[mrsbean78]

I'm guessing most people will be okay..
but I would greatly appreciate advice for pregnant women with underlying health conditions as every bit of 'reassuring' advice seems to be 'the majority of those severely affected seem to have had underlying health conditions'.

Erm, that doesn't reassure me..

Although, as pregnant women we're supposed to avoid everything from nuts to cheese to simple carbs in the interest of our babies' health so it doesn't seem unreasonable to be more cautious about the swine flu given its spread.. I would follow the travel/crowd advice to the same extent you follow the food advice. Doesn't seem sensible to ignore it, even if the risk is tiny (advice relating to listeria e.g. cheeses/rare and deli meats is based on a risk of about 129 people per million, and yet we all do it.. the risk for SF is undoubtedly a bit higher than this)

[trixymalixy]

The top story on the BBC news website is advising pregnant women and children under 5 to avoid crowds and stay at home if possible. I am scared now.

[Deemented]

That's all well and good, but just not practical for a lot of women. I have a ds,4 and a dd 14 months and am pregnant again. School finishes tomorrow - what am i supposed to do - stay in the entire holidays??? Just not practical at all.

[shoesies]

I have to travel to work on the tube everyday at peak time! Am due in November and definately can't afford to take maternity leave now... Staying off work simply isn't an option. Am I putting myself and my baby at risk?

[mrsbean78]

I am very angry with the government that they would issue this type of advice.

Either allow - at the very least - women who are pregnant with multiple risk factors to be signed off (with pay) or just keep schtumm.

I can't be told in one breath to 'continue going to work unless you feel unwell' (even though I work with kids in community clinic, and have to traipse through GP surgeries on a daily basis) AND to avoid travel/crowds. It's one or the other: keep calm and carry on OR take significant precautions.

I really wasn't that concerned, you know. Now I am absolutely terrified. It's my first baby, I'm moderately-severely asthmatic and I can't get one iota of consistent advice from anyone. Even the stupid Public Health Minister contradicted the travel advice on the Beeb this morning!

I have no faith in the idiots that govern us and do not believe, despite their committees and 'pandemic preparation' that they have the faintest idea how to keep us safe.

[AngelaCarleen]

I did think this morning, but then I thought about it a little more, it only takes one person to give you sf, you could meet that person anytime, even if you stay in to avoid crowds chances are you would leave the house at some point! I really think everyone should keep this in perspective, people die every year from seasonal flu - and there's a vaccine for that! There's another thread somewhere (sorry can't remember where) about it and the people on there who've had it seem to be saying it's not that bad.

[mrsbean78]

I'm not so sure..

I think that perspective needs to be maintained, but as the transmission range is 1m, it stands to reason that if you are in crowded/cramped places with more bodies, your probability of walking into the leftover droplets of someone's sneeze is a good deal higher.

Also, say you are not working, and you go to Sainsbury's mid-day... For the most part, you really can keep your distance from people. You would still be in contact with the cashier etc but you could stand back and stay away from people most of the time. If you are on the Tube, how many people can potentially actually sneeze in your face?

As I work in the NHS where there's good awareness that pregnancy is a high risk factor, I've noticed people have been very good at maintaining distance if they're feeling sniffly (but not 'swine flu' sniffly, more likely allergy sniffly). These sensible social distancing measures surely decrease risk?

Yes, you could be unlucky and sit with someone who is incubating and catch sf, but to me, it's like wearing a seatbelt or avoiding soft cheeses or not running into the road without looking. We have to be risk aware.. and I can see, looking at it rationally, that avoiding crowded places and public transport is a relatively sensible way to reduce risk to people potentially at high risk.