Flu shot or not?

[newmommy10_06]

How do you mommy's feel about receiving the flu shot while still pregnant? I'm a FTM,37 weeks and my doctor suggested it since it's the beginning of flu season.

[smcdsmcd]

Remember that your immune system is very weak while prego to allow your "parasite" (aka sweet little baby)to grow without your body rejecting it.  So  if you're someone who has never or rarely gets the flu, you are much more likely to get it now and to get it much more severly.  Pregnant women end up in the ICU all the time bc of the flu.  I recommend getting vaccinated.  I will get mine at my next apt!  Also my husband will get one too to keep the flu out of our house!

[shacacon]

What you said was exactly right!! I think before saying anything about kids with autism they should educate themselves on autism!  

[Baby1_2]

I am giving my opinion on the question, it was not meant for you and I am definitely not saying if you get the vaccine you kid will get autism! I work with kids with autism and if you ask their moms they will tell you NOT to get vaccines while pregnant... I am not here to argue with you or anybody else, but every mommy knows what's best for them and their kids so it's a personal decision and I hope they make the best decision and respect everybody else

[shacacon]

I will not consider it.. im no doctor by all means but I received the flu shot when i was pregnant with my son and my son has autism.. I read many articles on autism and it has said to start in pregnancy and the flu shot could trigger it.. I personally am not getting it until after I have my baby.. autism is higher in boys but girls can get it also

[newmommy10_06]

Great debate!

[skipapage]

All very valid points we are all parents or becoming parents and I think it is best to be fully informed of what can happen if you get the vaccine and what the worst case scenario is if you dont and make an educated decision about it. Thats what good pare ts do right? I was a firm beliver in I wont get ont, not because I dont think they work or because they make you sick but because I had never gotten the flu, and never received the shot so why jinx it or fix something that isnt broke,  but I always made the one exception for myself and it was if/whe I got pregnant, I got a cold early on in pregnancy and it threw me for a loop so if thats any inkling of what the flu might do to my immune system im glad I got it

[purplekhb6316]

I get the shot every year and plan to get it during my pregnancy. My OB recommend it.

[libellula]

I've never gotten the flu shot and I've never gotten the flu. I'm really not on either side of the argument, but I'm personally not getting one.

[krissydoo]

I would recommend the flu shot. I got th flu in early pregnancy and was hospitalized because of it. Your body's immune system is weak during and after pregnancy. Plus you do not want to get the flu with a newborn, no fun!!

[acissej87]

I had never gotten a flu shot. And I rarely have had the flu(maybe twice my entire life and I'm 27) The year that H1N1 was bad, I decided to get it, along with my son who was about 2 at the time. We both ended up with the flu. My son got it first, had a high fever for a week, I had to take him in because his temp got to 104. The day he was finally better and had no fever for 24 hrs without medicine, I became sick. I was in bed for a week. We were the only two in the house who got the flu, and at the time there were 5 other people living in the house, and NONE of them became sick. Because of this I will not get the shot. That was the worst flu I had ever had.

[newmommy10_06]

Good responses ladies. Thank you all for your advice and opinions.

[GeekMom1213]

Vaccination has absolutely no link with autism. This has been proven over and over and over again. Vaccinations do not cause autism. They are not a factor. They do not increase the risk. Please do not spread dangerous misinformation. If vaccines were dangerous to pregnant women don't you think scientists and doctors and researchers would have figured it out by now??? Vaccines prevent diseases. That's what they do. Autism is scary, mostly because we don't know what causes it, but we are absolutely sure that it is not caused by getting vaccinated.

[knufrio]

The flu vaccines come preservative free (no mercury)

[Baby1_2]

If you ask any moms with autistic kids, they will tell you to NOT get any vaccines while pregnant, I am no saying if you get the flu vaccine you'll have an autistic kid, but what I am saying is it could an important factor for some kids, not all of our children are the same so you never know how they will react to vaccines while they are developing... Specially because the vaccine has mercury and years ago it was not safe for pregnant woman.... I've never got the flu and hopefully I don't get it his year, but I am definitely not getting any vaccines while pregnant....  

[jnd622]

The problem I have with the flu shot is it is only for certain strains of the flu - I never got flu shots - my first pregnancy I got one as advised, and then came down with Type A influenza and was hospitalized in my 6th month for about a week. I have gone back to not getting the flu shots - and don't plan to with this pregnancy - mostly because for whatever reason, the one time i did get one, I was massively ill with the flu.

I also had someone I know who is a long time nurse send me a study where they were finding negative effects from flu vaccines on pregnant women - not sure how valid/not but it was definitely an interesting article.

[Mama6hijos]

Yes, I get a flu shot!! It also helps protect the baby once he/she is born as well!!

[samx89]

Im getting the flu shot, the midwife told me that it was important to get it as im having a winter baby, they cant give it to newborns so if I have it, it will be past to the baby and help him if he got the flu.

[mom429]

My first pregnancy I didn't get the shot because I never had the shot before why start now....well I should have ended up in the hospital for 4 days because of the flu! My second pregnancy got the shot and I'm getting the shot at my next appointment for my 3rd pregnancy

[knufrio]

Lousie_1986 the flu doesn't last 6 weeks. Many people think they have flu but what they really have is another virus. The flu shot protects against Influenza virus. Not other random viruses going around.  

[irinasmb]

I'm debating this one in my head also.  The last two years I did not get the flu shot for my kids or myself and we did not get sick. While the years before that when we did get the shots everyone got horribly sick at some point in the season.  Now I know the shots don't get you sick, but my argument is they don't actually work a 100% either.  I just hate putting anything unnecessary into my kids bodies if it's infective.  

[lousie_1986]

Seriously I just cannot believe it's safe. Me and my two sisters all got the shot at various times over 2 years (quite far apart from each other). We all only ever get the flu for a week or 2, if that. And yet within a few days of the shot, we each got an awful flu that lasted for 6 WEEKS (this was in different seasons so we weren't catching it from eachother)! If there's no way of catching flu from the vaccine then for sure there was something in the shot that either reacted badly with us or suppressed our immune systems. Either way I won't be getting one!

[Tanjat]

I'll be getting it.  I agree with the poster above - the flu shot does not make you sick

[jw12198]

My cousin is a nurse and like most of you I've never gotten the flu shot even with my first child but she says it's the best thing for us this time of year since the immune system is weakened, second time mom with another boy 25 weeks

[newmommy10_06]

Thank you ladies.

Bump