Flu vaccine and miscarriage risks study

[Meme12345]

Is anybody else nervous about getting a flu jab in light of the new CDC research that says it increases the risks of miscarriage? Has anybody else done a flu vaccine the year before pregnancy and during the pregnancy with no issues?

CDC hasn't changed their own advice. CDC says women should still get the jab.

The finding is actually about multiple years of getting flu jab, it's about women who had flu jabs 2 seasons running. Read the Independent summary. 17 of the 485 women (who m/c) had flu jab in the 28 days before they m/c'd. The other 468 women who had m/c, their m/c couldn't be linked to when they had or didn't have flu jabs.

Also, the strongest finding has to do with the specific H1N1 in the jab in 2010-2012; but the mix of strains in the jab will be different this year.

Statistically it's worth digging into, but compared to ordinary risks we deal with, it's not looking like much to me. The same authors tried to look for same problem with other pg women & their flu jabs & m/c rates: couldn't find a statistical link.

Hi
I get the flu jab through work every year, so I had it the year before pregnancy and also when pregnant. No negative effects as far as I know.
I've just had the flu - on mat leave and didn't get the jab. It was horrendous.

www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/new-study-finds-link-between-flu-vaccine-and-miscarriage-it-real

Correlation does not imply causation (a phrase that was drummed into us at university).

It’s right and proper that any hint of a link is investigated but bear in mind that this is a small potential link, and the risk to the life of both the mother and foetus is very real (and much, much higher), if the mother catches flu while pregnant.

A couple of things spring to mind - the age of the mothers, already mentioned by the authors. Older mothers for a lot of reasons might be more likely to have the flu jab. Older mothers are more likely to have a miscarriage.
Also, sicker people (ie high risk groups) will be more likely to get the yearly flu jab- and either their medical condition or the medications they take to control it may increase their miscarriage risk.

The above reasons would be correlated to, but not caused by, flu vaccines.

Believe me I agonized over whether or not to have the flu jab when pregnant.

I was 43, had suffered 7 miscarriages and would not do anything to risk another.

But then I had nursed many patients until they died from flu/pneumonia, I couldn't risk getting that either. It's a horrendous way to die, so spoke with colleagues, did my research and had it.

My healthy child is being settled into bed by dh now. 100% glad I have that jab.

Also apparently flu vaccine is only 10 percent effective this year. Not a number one likes seeing when evaluating benefits and risks.

The advice given is to get the flu jab. With everything that's going on in the news I'd definitely get it.
Speaking as someone who's had the flu jab this year, I hardly felt it. Didn't even have a sorry arm like I normally do.
I've also had flu at 18 weeks and being asthmatic it almost cost me and my DS life. I can't even remember much of my hospital visit as I was asleep/confused/out of it. I can remember drifting in and out and honestly feeling like I was dying.

It's not worth the risk. Get the jab.

No OP, it’s around 10% effective for one of the 3 circulating strains (the “Aussie flu”), covered by the vaccine due to a mutation which occurred in the wild strain mid 2017. However, there’s evidence that those who catch that particular mutated strain despite being vaccinated have a lower risk of hospitalisation and death than the unvaccinated.

The B strain covered by the vaccine is also circulating as part of the current epidemic and that is well covered by the vaccine.