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Avatar universal

H1N1 and pregnancy

It is recommended that pregnant women recieve the H1N1, as well as regular, flu shot during pregnancy.  Here is quote from Dr Enoch Choi on a recent thread regarding this important topic.

"Why does CDC advise pregnant women to receive the 2009 H1N1 influenza (flu) vaccine (shot)?

Getting the flu shot is the single best way to protect against the flu. It is important for a pregnant woman to receive both the 2009 H1N1 flu shot and the seasonal flu shot. A pregnant woman who gets any type of flu has a greater chance for serious health problems. Compared with people in general who get 2009 H1N1 flu (formerly called “swine flu”), pregnant women with 2009 H1N1 flu are more likely to be admitted to hospitals. Pregnant women are also more likely to have serious illness and death from 2009 H1N1 flu.

When a pregnant woman gets a flu shot, it can protect both her and her baby. Research has found that pregnant women who had a flu shot get sick less often with the flu than do pregnant women who did not get a flu shot.  Babies born to mothers who had a flu shot in pregnancy also get sick with flu less often than do babies whose mothers did not get a flu shot."


Here is a link to the discussion:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_chats/archive/34
68 Responses
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Avatar universal
im 33 weeks pregnant and didnt get the H1N1. I didnt feel comfortable with it especially after i read an article stating they didnt know the effects it had on the unborn baby....i stay home most of the time. i go out once a week to go shopping and thats about it. If i worked around a lot of people all the time i might re think my decision. i feel more comfortable without the shot then i would have if i had gotten it.
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661650 tn?1302282558
Oh that is so sad. How do they know it is Swine Flu. I only say that because they make you think they r testing for it, when they really are not, they are swabbing people and that is not a definitive test, no doubt it really was a Flu, but it is been confirmed they are not testing for swine so i do not know how they heck they are telling people that. y heart goes out to your friend. ox
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800427 tn?1324945719
one of my friends hadnt gotten the h1n1 vaccine yet and she got the swine flu and miscarried at 14 weeks....it happened last week. she's okay herself but baby didnt make it...its very sad. we live in different towns about 2 hours apart but we were gonna have babies together :( now i guess its just me.
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324142 tn?1253822722
Everyone has very different opinions about this........I personally will not get the H1N1 vaccine and I am 8 months pregnant.  Both of my children ages 1 and 4 have already had the swine flu a month ago and it was not hard on them at all---plus I didn't even get it!  They ran fever off and on for a few days, runny nose and cough but that was it.  As long as the fever was down they played as usual and seemed just fine.  I don't completely trust that this vaccine will not be harmful in any way to my unborn baby--I don't care what they say.  They don't have a history of giving the vaccine to pregnant women and following them and their babies after they are born to TRULY determine that it will not affect the baby.  The government and CDC do make mistakes and I do not trust it.  Both of my doctors also only recommend getting the regular flu shot so that is all I plan to do.  

Good luck everyone.........I hope you all stay healthy this flu season!  You just have to make the best choice for you and everyone is different:)
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661650 tn?1302282558
Another great video to watch and take into consideration

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9mh9f_swine-flu-1976-propaganda_webcam
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661650 tn?1302282558
Im not really sure about the health Bill i have to follow up on it, but i think that may be the republicans trying to scare you, because they have their pockets in the insurance and medical companies. I actually voted for Obama and think he will do the right thing, but i am starting to get alittle annoyed about the Vaccine sittuation, i think a lot of that is out of his control. But im not really sure. I do know that Obama was trying to make health care affordable for all middle class average people so i doubt it is 900 a person, that makes no sense. i have to read up on it though. And good for you with the letters!!! I was worried about all these vaccinations they want my kid to get and i want to know what my rights are. The truth of the matter is that the sicker we are as a nation the more money these Doctors and Medical Companies will make!
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906115 tn?1344200509
That is vey interesting! You know that is how aids and lots of things have gotten passed around. The government is not what we once thought are they. I am sadend to her the new health bill be passed. It owuld be like 1,400 for a family of 4 a month!!! How can people afford that! Like 900 for a single person. I have not read all the details about it but know we are heading into a socialist nation. Some big wig in Russia told Obama not to do this as it does nto work like we woudl want it too. He told him in a statement that they had tried it and it broke their nation. Very sad and I will die if they say these shots are mandatory! Legally they can not even keep your kids out of school enrollment for not having shots. They tried but failed with mine as I wrote a letter to the school, dr, and pharmisutical company who made the shots  to  out in writing they were 100% safe and would taek full resonsibility if something were to happen to my children. THey sent me letter saying they could not do that, all of them, and said that shots were based on informed consent and they are not mandatory in any state in the us. We have to fight and win the right battles! However I am glad I am due in the summer when there is less chance of catching anything when delivering.
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661650 tn?1302282558
http://socioecohistory.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/dr-russell-blaylock-on-1976-swine-flu-and-current-outbreak/
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Avatar universal
My school nurse told me to ONLY get the seasonal flu shot and not the H1N1 flu shot.
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906115 tn?1344200509
My hospital got in trouble for posting a letter from the government. It stated that more cases of H1N1 are from people who have had the shot or nasal spray. There ahve been no studies on this shot as it is made in chicken eggs like the regular flu shot. If given in the first 12 weeks of being pregnant it can effect the evelopment of the baby also as any shot! Anyway teh hospital posted the info about how it is spreading faster and sooner then it should was due to the shots and nasal spray. My hospital is a chain around the area and they had clinics to give them to the hospitals employes at one week intervals. The first hospital had an employee rate or almost 80% who got sick after getting the shot or nasal spray. Then they posted to all other hospitals that they would advise not gettting anything. I was in the lab getting my HCG levles done and government officials were all over the hospital taking down their personal letter to the administration and county health departments. I am not getting any shot and my kids have never had any shots for anything even vaccines and are the healthiest kids! They ahve never even gotten a cold! My step children have not been sick since they stopped getting shots as well. REad this. It is a thing my friend posted after researching about shots.

http://www.alternativehealth.co.nz/vacines/historicalfacts.htm
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661650 tn?1302282558
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/03/What-We-Have-Learned-About-the-Great-Swine-Flu-Pandemic.aspx



PLEASE READ
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661650 tn?1302282558
Hey-well i have never got the Flu shot of any kid ever, so i cant really say i am okay with it. I just do not trust this govt. The Govt, the Media, the Insurance companies, even some Dr's they are all like one big corporation whether people believe it or not and sometimes they do make things a lot bigger then things are to make a buck. Again i do not think they are trying to kill us with this shot, but no one knows the long term effects on what the shot can do to you. Since they threw it together so quickly, same goes for the reg shot or anything that has not really been tested long enough. Again im not swaying either way, im actually prb going to get at least one of those shots, but regarldless if i get it or not, i still am soo pissed at this Govt and Media and Medical Companies, they are all about the money. And it makes me sick. which is the number one reason why people are hooked on Perscription pills every year. Even your regular DR now a days, can perscribe meds for anxiety and i do not just mean a Xanax for when you fly, i mean Lexapro things that you have to take every day, meds that only psychiatrist should be perscibing, i don't know i just do not believe everything i see on tv just because it is on the news, i know they have their own agendas, which is prob why they didn't report half the dumb **** that president Bush was doing while he was in office, we practicly re-elected him twice out of fear. Sorry guys-things are crazy here in NY, alot of people think like that. But again this is all just my oppinion. Good luck to everyone on what ever you descide, just do not believe everything you hear on News. Everyone has their own agendas.....But when it does come to this vaccine unfortunatly we really are not left with much choice so i think, we have to out way our options......Again good luck to all.
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363110 tn?1340920419
Wanted to say I had planned on getting H1N1 vaccine since I got the flushot.... but I'll find out soon if what I have now is H1N1....

and the inactive flu shots (including h1N1) do not contain live virus, HOWEVER your body can still have flu-like reactions to it. I had extreme fatigure, and sore muscles from the normal flu shot (my first ever)....
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1085681 tn?1280176627
Juust to let everyone know, the "regular" flu shot you get every year is also new and barely tested. Every single year the "regular" flu is a new strain of the flu. So if your okay getting the regular flu shot then you should have no problems getting the H1N1 shot. The actual flu itself is more dangerous than the shot. I'm watching the news as I'm online and I just found out that a pregnant woman just died of H1N1 on the south side of Chicago. She was five months pregnant, the baby didnt survive. I have never gotten a flu shot before, but I am going to get a flu shot now that I'm pregnant, if I wasn't pregnant I wouldn't be getting the new shot. Like everyone has said, it is a personal choice that you and your significant other have to make. But I thought you should know that the "regular" flu shot is new every year, it no different. Europe gets the flu before we do, so when the get the flu we go over there and analyze the flu and then the scientists have 5 months to formulate, test, and produce the new flu shot. They do that every year! The flu is an active virus, it mutates and changes, so the vaccine for it must change. This is normal. The only difference between the H1N1 and the flu from last year is that the flu from last year has mutated and is stronger. People die from the flu every single year. This year it is just been broadcast over the television more. No difference, if you usually get a flu shot, get it like normal. If your paranoid, then think it over and make your decision as you see fit. But this is no different than any other year.
Helpful - 0
1029233 tn?1263966032
I live in Texas and about a month and a half ago I thought I was coming down with something.  Went to the doctor they did test me for the flu but it took 5 days to get the results back because the testing center is so backed up.  There was no point in even testing me!  It was so aggrevating.  By the time my results came back saying I had the regular seasona flu A & B I was already almost over it.  Maybe that's one reason they are not testing and just treating it like the seasonal flu... but I know here they have tested some of my family members and it has came back as 2009 Novel H1N1 influenza.  As far as the stats when someone dies they need to determine the cause of death so maybe they are just testing the deceased...I'm not really sure.  I agree with you, It is up to us to make the best decision we can for ourselves and our families.  However, I really do trust my doctor...he is practically family.  Good luck to us all in any decision we make:-)
Helpful - 0
661650 tn?1302282558
Oh yeah and a few months ago when my sister inlaw thought she had it,. the ER told her they would not test for it anymore. Why the hell would that be? I was told by a nurse that it is the same as the reg Flu if you get it you do the same thing. And just relax......and stay in bed, let it pass. But i was pretty pissed they told her they were not allowed to test her for the Swine Flu, yet they are coming out with all these stats about who are dying, how would they know that if in some places they are not allowed to test, i don't know. in ny things are alittle bit more hi speed and we see things coming from a mile away when it comes to money and with out a doubt i do believe that a lot of these insurance and medical companies will profit greatly from this issue........do i think they are doing it to hurt us, no......but do i think they really think long and hard about our best interest over their dollar......sometimes no. For all we know the Swine Flu Does not exsist, and they are shooting us up with yet another drug.....I don't know. I still have more research to do, But ofcourse it is always up to you. I know you say to trust you Dr, and for the most part i do. I just think in general, it is hard to trust them when it comes to perscriptions and stuff, because i have seen first hand how they profit from these scripts, and are brain washed into thinking it is okay to perscribe, because they tell them selvs that the Patient needs it, they def justify it in their own heads, and DEF make a dollar off it. They have to make a living too, and unfortunatly Health care is really not about health care in the US it is a Corp game......sad but true, and that is why hopefully our president will change that soon. Good luck to all.
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Avatar universal
Here's an intersting article if anyone cares to read it.  It talks about the deaths so far from H1N1 and the link that 29% of the deaths have resulted from contracting the H1N1 virus and a bacterial infection (like strep throat) at the same time.

http://origin2.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,558402,00.html?mep
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Avatar universal
I meant Thursday of the prior week... sorry
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Avatar universal
Sorry if I got it wrong about the President's kids not getting the shot... but as of Thursday I know for a fact that they hadn't had it yet.  Unfortunately I haven't been feeling well enough to watch TV and get updated on things like that.  I agree with all... it's up to you personally to do the research and weigh your options.  40,000 people a year die of the regular flu but if you put into perspective and think about how many people die in auto accidents each year, etc. the risk of dying from H1N1 seems pretty slim.  I live in WI and actually we were one of the 1st states that had identified this strain of flu years ago from a farmer who had both pigs and chickens.  They never made a big deal out of it and a lot of people here in the state have been getting it over the years without realizing it wasn't the regular flu.  My 3 year old niece was just diagnosed with it but fortunately they had started her on antibiotics while waiting for test results.  She had gotten the regular flu shot but the H1N1 wasn't available yet.  After 3 days of running a fever she is back to her same rambunctious self so I'd say that she's going to be alright.  I guess either way, the key is washing hands, avoiding sick people if you can help it, etc.  Being pregnant makes all all suseptible to many germs and bugs that are out there that could make us very sick.  I wish everyone the best of luck and pray all will stay healthy, with or without the shot.
Helpful - 0
1035252 tn?1427227833
actually the president's daughters HAVE gotten the h1n1 shot, but that's neither here nor there. the truth is, you have to trust your doctors. if you can't trust them, don't see that doctor. if they recommend it, you should get it. if they don't and you're comfortable with not getting the shot, by all means do not get it!  conservativemommy I can totally understand why you don't think you need this shot and i'm not saying you do!! but just realize that the incidents of pregnant women dying from this particular strain of the flu are significantly higher than any other strain, and that's only so far this flu season (consider that this is the first season this flu has been recognized, so the numbers are GOING to be low). I personally DO NOT KNOW if I am going to get it or not, but please please please I am agreeing with everyone here research both sides of the argument, and discuss with your doctor. It's easy to believe conspiracy theories because they wouldn't be any good if they didn't make a lot of sense. Just use your own common sense and your doctors advice to make up your mind. Some places are giving it for free, so I doubt that it's a pharmaceutical conspiracy, and the government pushing it because they want to hurt us doesn't make sense either because then a bunch of uninsured people would be dying or sick in the hospitals and costing us billions more dollars! so the real decision comes down to: do you think you need it or not? and the answer?!?! (drumroll please): ask your doctor! SSBD everyone if you're still TTC and H&H9 to everyone else!!
Helpful - 0
661650 tn?1302282558
Hey thanks, yeah i mean i am a research analyst, so i research everything. But i just think the Dr's and Medical Companies are benifiting from their advice and it is coming to the point where i don't even think what the dr are saying are completely true, i had to learn that hard way about BC pills and what they can do to you. All Drs say something diff, and it is so annoying. So to trust a Dr just cause he is yours or just cause he is a DR is not cutting it for me lately. My one dr didn't push it and just gave me both sides, and my Reg OBGYN told me i def should be getting it. I just hate that i can not have the facts and i have to read threw everyones ********. I dont think the Gov is trying to kill us, but i do not like how they are real quick to shoot us up with something that possibly could also harm us you have to remember i dont live in Canada and these insurance companies are making so much money off us and esp perscriptions and such, so it just hard to even believe your Dr now a days! Still not sure what im going to do, i see alot of good points on both sides but i think im going to get at least the Reg Fu shot Def. Ok well ill talk to you later and thanks for the input!
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Avatar universal
Personally, I'll take my chances!  I'm 33 weeks along and I guess that I am not comfortable being told that I need to get one by the Government who is pushing it so hard.  This is my 3rd and never had any problems with the other 2 pregnancies and flu.  Did you know that the President hasn't had his own kids vaccinated for H1N1?  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
After struggling with this decision, I finally got the vaccine yesterday. I am almost 29wks, and I'm a high school teacher.  There have been so many confirmed cases in our area, I didn't see any other option.  Only side effect I have had was a headache, which is better than putting me or the baby at risk.  
Helpful - 0
171768 tn?1324230099
thimerisol is a preservative used in some vaccines.

if you choose to get vaccinated, you can ask in advance which vaccine they offer and look it up. a dr or pharmacist can help you understand the components of the vaccine, as well as potential risks.

i am beginning to realize that i shouldn't give specific advice about this topic because honestly, you shouldn't listen to ME any more than you should listen to the other strangers on the internet who assert that this is all a conspiracy, that it's unsafe, etc... The only people you should listen to are trusted medical professionals. Don't like what your says then find another or go against their advice with the understanding that you are not following his or her recommendation. If you choose to research on your own, be very careful. Any shmuck can slap a "Dr." in front of his or her name and provide advice. When reading, stick to credible sources. If you don't trust our government and the CDC, you can look at the WHO (world health organization), AMA, etc...
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