Are you eligible for the H1N1 vaccine?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is again strongly recommending that pregnant women be among the early recipients of H1N1 flu vaccine.

The advice was published recently on a blog post from the CDC on WebMD.com. Experts from the CDC have teamed up with WebMD to produce blog posts related to this year’s flu season.

Severe illnesses among pregnant woman and infants have been reported in the current H1N1 outbreak. About 6 percent of deaths have been among pregnant women, which is quite high considering that only about 1 percent of the population at any given time is pregnant.

Pregnant women are at an increased risk from seasonal flu also, which is why the CDC has recommended vaccination for many years. This risk comes because expectant mothers have decreased lung capacity and changes in how their immune system works. These changes make pregnant women more susceptible to flu-related complications, including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, endangering both mother and baby. Influenza's potential impact on the unborn child can be very serious as well, including spontaneous pregnancy loss, fetal death, pre-term birth, and birth defects.

This is why public health and medical professionals are urging pregnant women to get vaccinated against both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu. In fact, the CDC is urging pregnant women to be among those who get the first doses made available in their communities.

H1N1 flu vaccination during pregnancy should also reduce the risk that a new mother will get flu while pregnant or after delivery and pass it on to her newborn infant. Vaccination of pregnant women with seasonal flu vaccine has been shown, in one study, to dramatically reduce the risk of illness for both mother and newborn baby up to age 6 months.

Expecting mothers should rest assured knowing that the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines are made and tested in the same way as seasonal influenza vaccines, which have been used by pregnant women for years. Pregnant women can get the vaccine at any time during pregnancy. The vaccine is also safe for women who are breastfeeding.

Pregnant women should get flu shots – not the nasal spray vaccine – since the nasal spray has not been approved for use in pregnant women. Women can receive the nasal spray vaccine after they have delivered, even if they are breastfeeding. The H1N1 flu shot can be administered in a single dose just like the seasonal flu shot and cannot cause the flu.