107: Flu Vaccine During Pregnancy (Updated)
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Episode 106 Content and Overview
Flu is short for influenza, which is an infectious disease caused by the influenza virus. In healthy adults the flu normally isn’t serious and symptoms subside in about a week. When you are pregnant, the inflammatory response your body has to the flu during pregnancy puts you at a higher risk for some complications. It is recommended that pregnant women get the flu vaccine during their pregnancy to protect them and give passive immunity to their baby. There are many flu vaccines available and it can be a challenge to weigh the risks and benefits to decide whether getting the flu vaccine during pregnancy is right for you. This episode dives into all of the pros and cons and considerations to think about to make an informed decision on whether you should get the flu vaccine during your pregnancy.
Included in This Episode
- Stanford University article on immune response in pregnant women
- Types (A, B, & C) and subtypes (hemagluttinin and neuremanidase)
- NPR article on influenza subtypes
- How the flu vaccine is formulated each year
- Vitamin D
- Trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines
- Study on the timing of the flu vaccine during pregnancy
- Getting both the flu vaccine and Tdap
- CDC information on the flu vaccine during pregnancy
- Egg based, cell based, and recombinant vaccines
- Available influenza vaccines
- Ingredients
- Thimerosal & mercury (single vs. multi dose)
- World Health Organization information on thimerosal
- Study on inflammatory response to the flu vaccine among pregnant women
- Study on maternal immune activation and brain development of a baby
- Association of spontaneous abortion with receipt of inactivated influenza vaccine containing H1N1pdm09 in 2010–11 and 2011–12
- ACOG response to possible link between miscarriage and the flu vaccine
- CDC response to possible link between miscarriage and the flu vaccine
- Side effects
- Flu vaccine effectiveness
- Historical effectiveness
- Talking to your doctor or midwife about the flu vaccine
- Mommy Steps makes insoles specifically for pregnancy. They have insoles for athletic shoes and ones for flats or boots. You can even heat them in your oven and mold them to your own feet to make you more comfortable and to prevent foot issues during pregnancy. Mommy Steps is offering an exclusive 20% off for listeners of the Pregnancy Podcast. Click here to check them out and enter the promo code FEET when you checkout.
- Zahler makes a high quality prenatal vitamin that has the active form of folate plus omega 3s and DHA. This is the prenatal vitamin I take and the one I recommend. Zahler was very generous and gave me a promo code I can share with you so you can save 25% off when you buy a month supply on Amazon. To order them today click this link Zahler Prenatal + DHA and enter the promo code PREPOD25 when you checkout to save 25% on a one month supply.
