We are first to get the Swine Flu injection- How do you feel

[mummytopebs]

I learnt today that pregnant women are the 1st to get the swine flu injection, therefore we must be considered the most at risk. Was just wondering if people are going to get the injection?

[CantThinkofFunnyName]

Yes I absolutely will have the jab. I am 20 weeks pregnant and asthmatic. As such, I have a flu jab every year. Some years I escape with a horrid cold and others, despite having the jab I end up with bronchitis, pneumonia etc, all complications of the flu.

After having a small temperature and sore throat a month or so ago, my GP advised me that should I get swine flu, it would be extremely difficult as Tamiflu should not be prescribed for pregnant women and instead Relenza is prescribed. HOWEVER, Relenza is not advised for asthmatics! I'd be in a pretty rotten situation so I will do whatever I can to avoid contracting altogether.

[lucky1979]

If it mutates, the vaccine they have come up with won't work surely?

And at the moment there have been only two pregnant women who have died in the UK from swine flu and both had serious underlying health conditions before they got swine flu. I don't think the risk is currently great enough to inject anything into my body that isn't fully tested, pregnant or not.

[FlightHattendant]

Reading this I don't think schools ought to go back. Surely having the holidays extended is the best way to keep it in check, if it's currently eased off?

[hannahsaunt]

I am in a real quandry too. Normally v pro vax if/when apt. Mum is a nurse practitioner and dh is a doctor - both are hospital based, neither ever have the seasonal flu jab. I am 15wks pg and dh thinks that I should take the vaccine if offered (but doesn't want ds3 (2yo) to have it). I really don't want to have it. I think. But he will be in the thick of any outbreak over the winter and I will be galloping towards my 3rd trimester where the swine flu complications seem to really kick in with prem deliveries etc. Aargh. What do I do?

[pofacedandproud]

I am very worried about the second wave and schools. but so little information on it at present.

[pofacedandproud]

if it mutates the vaccine will still provide some immunity, apparently.

[meemarsgotabrandnewbump]

Pregnant women are more at risk of complications from any flu, not just swine flu.
Because I wouldn't consider having the ordinary seasonal flu vaccine while pregnant, I wouldn't consider having this either.

I also have an uneasy feeling about the rushed nature of getting the vaccine out/lack of testing.

[Flowerface]

Does anyone know if having the vaccine means that your baby, once born, will be protected? I am more worried about my newborn baby contracing SF than myself getting it while pregnant. Don't think they vaccinate children under one year...

[trixgus]

I am a GP and believe this vaccine will be as well tested as any of the yearly flu jabs are. I am currently 22 weeks pregnant, and will have no hesitation in having the jab. After being besieged at work a few weeks ago with swine flu, it has now gone quiet, but we all know the second wave is coming. There is no doubt that pregnant women, especially in the latter stages of pregnancy, are at much higher risk of complications, and ditto for a newborn baby. If I can protect myself and the baby by having the jab I will.

[hannahsaunt]

Good to know trixgus - any other GP m/netters?

[GoldenSnitch]

I'm 22 weeks pregnant and really don't think I want it. I really don't fancy the idea of having tis jab and hoping all will be OK with my baby - it's just too much of an unknown for me.

[mmrsceptic]

trix what about the adjuvants, currently not licensed in the us

this is not the same as the seasonal flu vaccine

[trixgus]

All drugs/vaccines carry side effects and of course, as with any new drug, problems may come to light further down the road. No-one will be able to give 100% assurances about safety. But swine flu is not 100% safe either- although mild in most people, it will in some populations cause serious problems, pregnant women being one of these. For me I would rather take what I perceive as lower risk for me and the baby and have the jab.
For some people, all the testing in the world will never be enough. The MMR jab is by now the most vigourously tested vaccine worldwide, and all the concerns raised have not been backed up by evidence. Despite this, many parents still feel their childs risk is lower by leaving them unimmunised or using the relatively untested individual vaccines.
It is all about how you perceive risk. Whatever you choose, you have to be happy with your choice, but remember that come the winter the second wave of swine flu will be in full force and you will not know if you have been in contact with it unless you are planning on becoming a hermit! If you are worried about contracting swine flu, or have other health problems as well as being pregnant, do seriously consider having the jab.

[pofacedandproud]

parents would rather give 'relatively untested vaccines' you mean the single jabs for measles mumps and rubella? They have been around far longer than the MMR actually, the single measles vaccine Rouvax has been used since around 1967 I think. As you were

[mmrsceptic]

"for some people, all the testing in the world would not be enough"

trix that says a lot about you, it's very scathing, it's quite patronising and it sounds like you would be very dismissive when raise issues in your surgery

flu vaccines with adjuvants are currently not licensed in the US -- people have a right to be concerned about that

of course you can do what you like with your own body but as you're in a position to advise others I dislike your sweeping attitude

"the MMR is by now the most vigorously tested vaccine worldside"

well according to Cochrane those tests were inadequate

and the concerns have been backed up by evidence but not by proof

[meemarsgotabrandnewbump]

Does anyone know why seasonal flu vaccines are not routinely recommended for pregnant women, if flu carries such a risk of complications?

Why is it just swine flu?

[pofacedandproud]

I think in the States they are?

[mmrsceptic]

not with adjuvants

there's little or no information on how safe flu vaccines with adjuvants are in pregnant women and children.

[Trying4Baby1]

I will not be taking the vaccine. I'm only five weeks pregnant but spoke to my doctor about it and she says it's entirely up to me and they're leaving it up to the patient to decide.

The thing that's putting me off is that I get the normal flu vaccine every year as I'm asthmatic and to be honest this may put me even more at risk but I know for a fact that they don't allow pregnant woman to have the normal vaccine. I realise that we may be more at risk but if the normal vaccine is not considered safe then why is this one any different considering they have got everything passed through safety quicker than normal because it's based on the current vaccine method.

I realise that it's personal choice but I don't want to risk it especially with being so early in my pregnancy!

[mogend77]

meemarsgotabrandnewbump

"Does anyone know why seasonal flu vaccines are not routinely recommended for pregnant women, if flu carries such a risk of complications?

Why is it just swine flu? "

Mainly because the likelihood of catching seasonal flu when pregnant is so much lower. Seasonal flu is no picninc for pregnant women, but because pregnant women are generally in their 20s-40s, they are not in one of the age groups through which seasonal flu spreads rapidly - it mainly spreads in the over 60s and young children. Most young adults just don't get real flu very often.

The main difference between seasonal flu & swine flu, as far as pregnant women are concerned, is the likelihood of catching it.

[magicsarsie]

I am 9 1/2 weeks pregnant and work in a school 9-13 year olds. I wont be having the vaccine as I agree with others thoughts about putting something untested on pregnant women in our bodies. I may be called niave by some but it is not a chance I am prepared to take. My husband had swine flu a couple of weeks ago and was given Tamiflu for it. Yes he was poorly but not in our opinion poorly enough to me risk the vaccine. I wouldn't want my 13 year old to have it either. I will try and be sensible and if we start having large numbers of children at school off with it in the winter I will get myself signed off work. I know I will still come in contact with some who may have it but I will no doubt come into contact with many things before next April that the children may have. My sister works for the NHS and she isnt going to have the vaccine either.

[twinkletoes80]

DONT DO IT!!! Boost your immune system, that is perfectly possible during pregnancy. Think thalidomide. There are NO LONG TERM STUDIES on this vaccine, who knows what you will do to your baby. Think twice.

[mmrsceptic]

I don't think anyone should be telling anyone what to do.

[ForcesSweetheart]

As a diabetic & mildly asthmatic mum-to-be I was advised to have my usual flu jab when pregnant with DD as the doc said the risk of the jab was less than the risks if I was to get flu (thereby sending my sugars all over the place etc). I reckon if they advise the swine-flu jab this time I'll have it.

[ForcesSweetheart]

I'm confused by people saying pregnant women aren't allowed the usual seasonal flu jab, that wasn't my experience. My diabetic nurse at my GP clinic didn't think I was allowed it so she contacted the diabetic ante-natal clinic who advised I should have it.