Flu Shots Cut Risk Of Stillbirth In Half

There are ill-informed but also rational reasons for avoiding flu shots. The vaccine doesn't actually contain thimerosal, the preservative that used to be included in some other kinds of vaccines that is about 50 percent mercury. Flu shots don't weaken your immune system. The reality is, it's your immune system that determines your immunity to the flu after you take them. 

However, influenza injections don't necessarily protect against the flu, either. They aren't usually formulated to protect against every possible strain of the virus that might be going around. Even when they are, they work about half to two-thirds of the time. You can get a flu shot for the right strain of flu and still come down with it. The hope is that enough people get vaccinated so enough people are immune so most people are never exposed to the virus.

One group of people we almost never consider, however, benefits from influenza vaccinations. That group is the unborn.

How Big a Difference Does a Flu Shot Make to an Unborn Child?

Mothers often rationalize that they should skip their annual flu shot when they know they are pregnant, but the data show that flu shots actually save fetal life. A recent study in Australia found that 51 percent fewer babies were stillborn when their mothers were vaccinated against the flu.

Researcher Annette Regan, MPH, of the Western Australia Department of Health, and her colleagues analyzed records of 58,808 women who had been pregnant during 2012 and 2013. They found that mothers who received an influenza immunization during any trimester of pregnancy had only half the rate of stillbirths. The rate of stillbirths was even more reduced among women who delivered their children just after the end of flu season. These women had a two-thirds reduction in stillbirths. And among women who had received a flu in the last two weeks of their pregnancy, there were no stillbirths.

Wrote Ms. Regan:

""There are more than 3 million stillborn infants each year worldwide, and in developed countries stillbirth accounts for 70% of perinatal deaths; confirmation of these findings would indicate that seasonal influenza vaccination in pregnancy has substantial perinatal health benefits.'"

Why Would a Flu Shot Protect the Unborn?

We don't usually think of unborn babies catching flu. After all, they don't need to breathe, they can't sneeze, and they certainly aren't going to complain (although sometimes a mother will just know) that they are sick.

READ Whooping Cough And The Great Vaccination Debate

On the other hand, it's well known that pregnant women are especially susceptible to complications of the flu such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia. Many women brave these risks because they are afraid that taking the shot might harm their child. However, it appears that unlike other viral infections that devastating to the embryo, influenza is potentially deadly to the nearly fully formed fetus. Even if the mother has few or no symptoms, the fetus can suffer a severe infection and even die in the womb. The closer the baby is to term, the more likely death is from influenza infection. 

Not A Ploy By The Pharmaceutical Companies

Some Americans would understandably react to the news that flu shots save babies with skepticism. After all, flu shots cost money, and that money goes to Big Pharma, which earns billions of dollars with a product everyone needs every year. However, there is a different dynamic between the pharmaceutical companies and the public in Australia where this study was conducted and in the UK where a similar study has been conducted.

Outside the United States, a flu shot isn't something you might have to pay $150 to get at the doctor's office or $50 to get a chain drugstore. Flu shots are free. The drug companies have to provide enough vaccine for everyone at a low cost. The decisions really are about whether or not the vaccine makes people healthier.

The reason the doctors in Australia looked at this question was that they noticed that a few years earlier, during the H1N1 pandemic of a Mexican swine flu in which frantic efforts were made to vaccinate people, stillbirth rates went down. They simply wondered whether influenza might be a cause of stillbirth. The data show that it is. So what should women do?

READ Vaccinations Advised for Newborn Babies

• It's best to get vaccinated for influenza early. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, that's usually September, the end of summer. In the tropics, it's once a year about the same time every year, since flu season tends to run all year around. In the Southern Hemisphere, vaccination time is March and April.
• Get vaccinated even if you are in the early stages of pregnancy. Unlike some other vaccines, flu vaccine will not harm the baby in the first term. You won't be able to get the nasal spray if you are pregnant. 
• If you have a choice between trivalent vaccine (a product that protects against three strains of flu) and tetravalent vaccine (a product that protects against four strains of flu), get the tetravalent product. This offers more protection for your baby.
• Make sure you get enough iron and vitamin C in your diet, especially around the time you get the vaccine. This helps your immune system respond to the shot.

If you didn't get the flu shot and you come down with symptoms of flu, see your doctor as quickly as possible about getting oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) to stop the infection in its tracks. These prescription medications are shown to be safe during pregnancy.

If you choose not to get flu shots, or even if you do, it's always helpful to wash your hands, wash your hands, and wash your hands some more to avoid picking up germs. The flu germ doesn't last very long in the air (you aren't especially likely to catch flu by virtue of someone's sneeze or cough), but it lasts up to 24 hours on hard surfaces. Wiping down counters and door knobs with antiviral products, and washing your hands after leaving your home, help to protect you against the virus.