Many Remain Concerned About the H1N1 Vaccination
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Turn on the news, open the newspaper, or flip on the radio, and one topic you are guaranteed to hear about is the flu. Each year, pregnant women are faced with an important question that often gets lost in the multitude of health considerations surrounding pregnancy: should they or should they not get a flu shot.
As a mom-to-be or a mother of young children, a woman has much more to worry about than just herself this flu season, particularly with the added threat of the novel H1N1 flu (commonly called “swine flu”). Pregnant women are among the high-risk groups more susceptible to complications from both seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu—and health care providers recommend they get vaccinated for both types of flu this year.
To better understand women’s attitudes, beliefs and level of understanding regarding the risks of flu and the benefits of a flu vaccine, HealthyWomen (HW) recently commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey of women who are currently, or were recently, pregnant. A similar survey of this population was conducted in September 2008. The good news coming out of this year’s survey was that a much higher proportion of women, 66 percent versus 49 percent in 2008, understood that pregnant women were at high risk for complications from the flu, were more likely to be hospitalized (69% vs. 44%), and might have a longer recovery period (67% vs. 54%).
We also are encouraged that nearly six in ten pregnant women have already had or are planning to get a seasonal flu shot during their current pregnancy, a substantial increase from 2008. The less encouraging news is that many women have concerns about the safety of the H1N1 flu vaccine. When asked specifically about the safety of seasonal flu shot and H1N1 flu shots, more women think seasonal flu is very safe or safe (86%) as compared to the proportion who think H1N1 flu shot is very safe or safe (68%). This may be because fewer women, just one in five (21%), have discussed getting an H1N1 flu shot with their health care provider, an instrumental step in many women’s decision to get a flu vaccination of any type.
To answer women’s questions about flu shots during pregnancy, HealthyWomen and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) are conducting the “Flu Free and A Mom-to-Be” campaign, urging women who are pregnant, planning to conceive, or who are new mothers to protect themselves with both a seasonal and an H1N1 flu shot during this flu season. This campaign, supported by CSL Biotherapies, aims to help pregnant women understand the benefits of being vaccinated and to mobilize healthcare providers to educate and vaccinate their patients according to existing flu recommendations. Both women and providers can find a variety of resources and information at www.HealthyWomen.org/flufree.
In addition to keeping pregnant women healthy, the flu vaccine can help to protect a woman’s baby after its birth. Given that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not recommend a flu vaccine for infants under six months of age, the newborn can receive immunity benefits passed from its mother. In fact, according to a 2008 New England Journal of Medicine study, women who were vaccinated against the flu while pregnant or breastfeeding reduced the likelihood of flu infection in their newborns by 63 percent through passed immunity. This message seems to be reaching women as 58 percent of the respondents to HealthyWomen’s recent survey recognized the safety net the flu vaccine provides for a woman’s newborn baby, a nearly 10 percent increase from last year.
Our research also reinforced the vital role that women’s health care providers play in ensuring that they get vaccinated against the flu. Compared to 2008, there has been a notable increase in the proportion of women who have spoken to their provider about getting a flu shot while pregnant, though considerably less so for H1N1 as compared to seasonal flu. More than seven in ten women believe the seasonal flu shot is safe because their health care provider recommended it to them, versus 59 percent who felt this way in 2008.
We encourage all pregnant women, as well as those planning to become pregnant and new moms, to talk with their health care provider about the benefits of both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines. This year is unlike any other in recent history in regards to flu, which makes it more important than ever for women to protect their own health as well as the health of their babies.
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