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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Flu jab with 3 weeks to go

27 replies

steben · 27/09/2012 08:16

Would you bother? My first instinct was to say no - I didn't bother last time during all the swine flu hysteria as i am usually quite well and rarely get ill but this time with a toddler to care for and going into the harsh winter season instead of summer maybe it is the sensible option - WWYD?

OP posts:

AnitaBlake · 27/09/2012 08:24

I'll be getting mine in two weeks when I'll be 35w. Just seems sensible, I have a toddler too. Don't forget it won't stop all flu but will reduce your chances of getting it.

FluffyJawsOfDoom · 27/09/2012 08:41

I got mine this week at 38+2 as according to nhs literature it doesn't just protect me from flu, it also passes the antibodies to baby once born and protects him/her for a few months. My midwife still recommended I have it, too.

brettgirl2 · 27/09/2012 08:42

And remember that if you are less likely to catch it then so is baby anyway...

wickedfairy · 27/09/2012 08:57

I just had mine on Monday (34 weeks, 3rd preg). First time I have had it - my arm was a little tender afterwards and I feel tired, but I think that is more to do with just finding out I am anaemic rather than the injection....

I wasn't sure, but with 2 kids already and generally feeling rubbish, it could be so much more worse. So, not wanting to feel any more rubbish than I already do, I took it!

I did ask for advice on here - the thread was only a couple of days ago - quite a few people knoew of others/themselves who have had flu and suffered very badly when pregnant. That did it for me really! Good luck with whatever you choose!

Original poster

steben · 27/09/2012 09:21

Thanks I think I will get it - might as well minimise risk as much as possible.

OP posts:

Brycie · 27/09/2012 09:22

Maybe ask whether it's got mercury in first? I think some flu jabs do have.

Orenishii · 27/09/2012 09:34

I refused mine. I'm not against vaccination in principle, but this particular one doesn't sit well with me, at all. The risk of getting flu before I give birth in mid-October is no where near enough for me to balance that with injecting myself with a "purified" version of the flu, putting my body through the 10-14 days of producing anti-bodies to fight it off - and have the possibility still end up getting the flu anyway!

This particular shot does not sit well with me at all and I really don't like the heavy pushing of it.

MrsJohnDeere · 27/09/2012 09:57

I would (and did 2 days ago). Having had flu twice I know the was no way on earth I could cope with looking after a newborn and other children at the same time. It was near impossible to get out of bed to go to the loo, let alone spring into action the moment a baby needs changing or feeding.

Lora1982 · 27/09/2012 10:05

i really dont get ill at all. until i found out i was pregnant and i got a cold. so perhaps im less immune to it at the minute so im considering doing it.

stowsettler · 27/09/2012 11:38

Get it. I'm a GP practice manager. Flu poses a very real and serious risk of death to pregnant women (and, of course, to their babies). The risk of any adverse effects from the actual jab are far, far lower. And, as has already been said, the antibodies are passed on to the baby.
Unless you're allergic to some of the ingredients (you have an egg allergy, for instance) I can really conceive of no other reason not to have it. And even then there are alternative vaccines to the usual one.
Oh and flu is NOT a cold. Influenza is an extremely debilitating illness which even healthy, non-pregnant people can take up to a year to get over.

Brycie · 27/09/2012 11:50

Hi Stow maybe you know if they have mercury in?

AliceHurled · 27/09/2012 12:01

I don't think I'm having it. I'm 38 weeks so the likelihood of me catching it while I'm still pregnant are so tiny. I've only had flu twice in my life so it's hardly common. I'm rather sceptical of things like this.

BonaDea · 27/09/2012 12:03

I have the jab every year because of another pre-existing medical condition.

It certainly does not take 2 weeks to get over having the jab. I know it isn't a 100% certainty that you won't get the flu, but I must say I haven't had the flu since starting getting the jab. Ok, that might be coincidence, but I see zero downsides and a huge benefit if you can avoid flu.

HaggisNeepsTatties · 27/09/2012 12:07

I'm 38 & 2 and spoke to my midwife about this yesterday. She recommend I have it. As some of you say i'm unlikely to get it in the next few weeks, but antibodies will be passed to the baby through breastfeeding and flu with a newborn over the winter doesn't really appeal to me.
NHS website recommends all pregnant women get the jab regardless of the stage of pregnancy:
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Flu-jab/Pages/Whyitshouldbedone.aspx

Orenishii · 27/09/2012 12:28

FYI - it's the NHS guidance on getting the jab that say it takes 10-14 days for your body to respond to the flu jab. Not get over it. I'm due in 2.5 weeks. The NHS says it takes 10-14 to respond to it. For me personally, that is just kind of a bit pointless. I might not be pregnant in two weeks - those two weeks that it would take for my body to respond to it. When I'm no longer pregnant, I'm not longer eligible for it. It doesn't make sense.

Do you what you like ladies, but I for one will not be scare-mongered into something that cannot even guarantee I won't get something anyway, something I've only had about once in my entire life. What is the point of putting something in your body when it's rendered redundant because you might still actually get the flu?

stowsettler · 27/09/2012 12:29

I can only go by the vaccines we use and they do not contain mercury. Honestly, so much scaremongering.

monkeynumberthree · 27/09/2012 12:52

I had the flu jab yesterday (31wks pg) - I didn't have the swine flu jab when it was offered to me when I was pg with DD2 as I was less than 12wks at the time and anxious about having any medication etc that wasn't absolutely necessary. This time I'm more relaxed as I'm further on and couldn't think of a good reason not to have it. And as a PP has said, there was a thread about it a few days ago, which reminded me just how miserable it is to be ill with flu (which I've only had once before but would really not like to get whilst pg/with a newborn).
The only problem I've had with the jab is that my left shoulder is now quite tender and whenever I tried to sleep on my left side last night it was very achey and uncomfortable!

elizaregina · 27/09/2012 13:09

defianlty have it - i cant wait to have mine soon enough! i have already been hugged by neighbour who was telling me how ill she was all last week with flu or lung infection!

it takes a while to kick in anyway so why not make sure your immune after baby is born as well - unless you have fab support system who could look after baby etc....

i dont - so cant take risk.

also on other thread a lady who worked in critical care said she saw many preg ladies go into her section with flu - and came out with not always a good result - she is certianly having or had her jab and paying for her children to have ot.

Jojoba1986 · 27/09/2012 15:38

I had the jab about a week before giving birth & it made me feel rotten & then everyone in the hosp was fussing because I had a slightly raised temp & fast pulse which 'might indicate an infection'. Noone would listen to me explaining that it was a pre-existing 'infection' that wasn't likely to kill me & wouldn't be affected by IV antibiotics! I got fed up & discharged myself in the end! (For the record, I'm not recommending that anyone ignore medical advice, I just knew what was wrong with me & that they had to follow their procedures just to be safe!)

If you're not likely to go into labour early then I'd recommend having it! You'd only kick yourself if you did get flu after refusing the jab!

Pontouf · 27/09/2012 16:29

I am a scrub nurse and work with an anaesthetist whose opinion I really value (plus she has two children of her own) who said to get it. She does a lot of work on ITU and told me that last year they had two pregnant women being ventilated due to having caught flu while pregnant. These women were not conscious or able to breathe for themselves. Their babies had to be born early by cs at 34 and 36 weeks to give them the best chance of life. However tiny, that risk will always be too much for me. It is free, it has been deemed safe for us to take and not having it increases the risk to me and my baby so I'm having it. I have done plenty of other things to decrease risk to me and my baby - taken folic acid, given up booze and strong painkillers and lovely Brie, why wouldn't I do this too?

AliceHurled · 27/09/2012 16:57

You see giving stuff up I can totally do. That's easy. But putting something in to my body, for what seems to me to be a negligible risk I struggle with. Sure they say it's fine. How do they know? How long has it been around? They can't know for sure it's fine, they're working on evidence to date probabilities, surely? I would love someone to be able to correct that for me, but all I come across from medical professionals is a 'well the guidance is...' which doesn't engage with my concerns, or a bit of 'well you don't want to risk your baby...' emotional blackmail which makes me switch off. If they need to fall back on that I'm not convinced. So that still leaves me grappling in the dark and wondering which risk is worse.

Orenishii · 27/09/2012 17:06

That Alicehurled is the perspective I come from too. A lot of the reasoning on this thread has been from the perspective of the negative - what if you get, what if you're ill caring for a newborn, what if your baby gets it. Etc, etc. It's very fear mongering, anecdotal. And it's frustrating there's no information to balance that on why you shouldn't get it done.

They tell you to be injected with something that does not guarantee you not getting the flu anyway, with no information available on what the negative consequences of doing it might be.

surfmama · 27/09/2012 17:51

not for me. i didn't have it.

Discolite · 27/09/2012 19:04

Look at the link below. The statistics on pregnant women and their unborn babies when they catch flu do not make nice reading.

www.nhs.uk/news/2011/10October/Pages/swine-flu-H1N1-risk-pregnancy-still-birth.aspx

"Women with swine flu were found to have a significantly higher rate of adverse events than uninfected pregnant women. This included about a fourfold higher rate of stillbirth and fivefold higher rate of neonatal death (when the baby dies within 28 days of life)."

I don't suppose it will convince those who have a problem with vaccines but the benefits far, far outweigh the risks.

I'm having my jab on the 13th and can't wait. I just wish a vaccine for the common cold existed too, but hey ho!

AliceHurled · 27/09/2012 19:37

You see that's the kind of thing. I get that if I got swine flu it might have an adverse impact. Tbh I find those stats quite reassuring as I thought the risk would be far higher.

But how likely am I to get swine flu in the next 4 weeks? Where is the research that talks about the damage that the vaccine may or may not do? I can't balance the risks without that information.

I'm not averse to everything. I've taken medication in pregnancy where I can weigh up the evidence of the risk being tiny. I can't find this evidence for the flu vaccine. Wish I could. If anyone knows where it is please tell me.

All I see is the 'but if you get it...' stuff. But why would I? Being pregnant doesn't make me more likely to be exposed to it. In fact less so as I am less exposed to other people.

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