And FYI: know what's really terrifying? When your husband comes home with what appears to be a very obvious case of the flu & you feel like there's literally nothing you can do to protect yourself or your unborn baby because you didn't get a flu shot & now you put your baby at risk.
I've been anti-flu shot for forever. I've NEVER gotten one before. But when this happened to me this weekend, damn straight I went out and got my flu shot. Thank god my husband was tested and it wasn't actual influenza, but just because you've never encountered the flu before doesn't mean it won't find you now.
None of my children are vaccinated, actually. The risk does not outweigh the benefit for my family. I respect the right to choose if you vaccinate or not, but seeing person after person tell the OP to just get the flu shot is disturbing. OP, do your research and make a decision that you feel is the best for you and your baby. If your instinct says no or questions it, then don't get it or at least wait until you 100% know. You can't undo a vaccine, so be sure.
Not going to touch most of this, but the "do your research" argument really only makes sense if the "you" in that sentence is a medical professional who (a) has access ALL of the recent relevant research (SHOCKER: not all medical research can be found via google search), and (b) understands fully the various types of testing employed for research studies, and which ones yield the most accurate results (you don't have to be a medical professional to understand this generally, but it's typically reserved for people who are in research fields).
I am an accountant. I wouldn't presume to understand medical research in the same capacity as a doctor could. Just like I wouldn't expect a doctor to understand legal research, and I wouldn't expect a lawyer to understand socioeconomic research. ANYONE can write an online article citing medical studies and get it to support whatever their stance is. Without actually reading and interpreting the underlying medical research itself, which is difficult to get your hands on if you're not in a research field, you're not "doing your own research." You're reading articles that only reference the available research that ALREADY support the claims that the writer wants to make. Plenty of research is left out, and plenty of conclusions are taken out of context. I'm smart enough to understand that an accountant shouldn't be giving medical advice, just like I'd get a lawyer instead of trying to defend myself in a court of law. So I do what my doctor tells me.
I seriously hope you are never faced with any of the diseases that your children could have been vaccinated against but aren't. There's a reason vaccines exist...and it's because the diseases that they guard against can be fatal. I'm also not sure what "the risks outweigh the benefits for my family" means...what is the benefit of not vaccinating exactly? Actually, don't answer that, I'm sure it will not make logical sense to me whatsoever.
Yes, let us all go back to the Middle Ages where there were no vaccines available and people died from all sorts of things which are preventable or treatable now. Or go back to the 1950s when people were getting polio left and right and ask them if they would want a vaccine. It's so easy to say you don't want vaccines when there is not a huge epidemic going on, which is due to the amount of vaccines people are getting. Funny how that works.
The flu shot is ineffective and not proven safe for pregnant women. Ask to read the insert that comes with the vaccine. It says in the insert it is not recommended for pregnant women. It was something like 16% effective last year. This year, it is "improved" and thought to be 50-60% effective. Still sounds like a gamble to me. I would not risk putting poison in my body ever, especially while carrying a baby.
Stop that. The flu shot is not poison, don't fear monger just because you don't want to get the shot.
Let me ask, are there any medications you are taking during your pregnancy? Because none have been proven 100% "safe" during pregnancy, what with ethics and all, not being able to test on pregnant women.
I lurk. I snark. I offer sound advice if you're not BSC. You may not like me. I'm okay with it.
None of my children are vaccinated, actually. The risk does not outweigh the benefit for my family. I respect the right to choose if you vaccinate or not, but seeing person after person tell the OP to just get the flu shot is disturbing. OP, do your research and make a decision that you feel is the best for you and your baby. If your instinct says no or questions it, then don't get it or at least wait until you 100% know. You can't undo a vaccine, so be sure.
People passing along their doctor's recommendation is disturbing? What the actual fuck? You're right. We should be telling op what our crystals and psychics are channeling with regard to modern medicine.
None of my children are vaccinated, actually. The risk does not outweigh the benefit for my family. I respect the right to choose if you vaccinate or not, but seeing person after person tell the OP to just get the flu shot is disturbing. OP, do your research and make a decision that you feel is the best for you and your baby. If your instinct says no or questions it, then don't get it or at least wait until you 100% know. You can't undo a vaccine, so be sure.
You know what else you can't undo? Death by influenza.
Also, I think what's more disturbing is you trying to scare OP into NOT getting the flu shot.
Isn't fear mongering the same thing when all of you tell the OP that she or her baby could die without the flu shot? That sounds pretty scary to me. Statistically though, a healthy person (pregnant or not) has a very low risk of having complications from the flu. I was simply stating the facts on what can happen if you get the vaccine. It's important to be informed.
So the "facts on what can happen if you get the vaccine" are what then? All you said is that the shot is 50-60% effective this year. That's the only fact you've given. Which is actually pretty good...I'd rather be 50-60% immune than 0%.
The fact there haven't been double blind medical studies on the flu vaccine in pregnant women is kind of irrelevant given that those studies are not done with any drug on pregnant women anymore, and there have been studies done on pregnant women that voluntarily got the vaccine that showed zero negative affects to the fetus as a result of the flu shot.
What "poison" are you referring to? The dead virus is naturally occurring and you'll almost certainly be exposed to it in its live form at some point this year, even if you don't happen to catch the flu. And the mercury free version has been given to pregnant women for the last several years (and actually even the version with mercury has less mercury in it than the average serving of fish, so I fail to see how that's an issue).
It is a fact supported by medical studies that pregnant women and small children/babies are at higher risk of dying of complications from the flu than an average healthy person. Facts and fear mongering are not the same thing.
But if lack of studies on pregnant women and "poison" are keeping you away from the shot, good luck with your drug, vitamin, and fish free pregnancy. Or does this stance only apply to actual shots? I mean are you avoiding prenatal vitamins and eating fish too for the same reasons you listed above, or is that too logical for you?
And here's a great article summarizing the most recent studies on flu shots in pregnant women, so yes, these studies do exist (the actual stidies that are publically available are linked to in the article):
The flu shot is ineffective and not proven safe for pregnant women. Ask to read the insert that comes with the vaccine. It says in the insert it is not recommended for pregnant women. It was something like 16% effective last year. This year, it is "improved" and thought to be 50-60% effective. Still sounds like a gamble to me. I would not risk putting poison in my body ever, especially while carrying a baby.
If I was exposed to the flu I'd rather have 50-60% protection against it than 0%.
The flu shot is a category B drug. That is the best rating a drug can get now because in order to be category A you'd need to do double blind studies on pregnant women, which carries ethical concerns and hasn't been done in decades. To be category B, you have to have multiple large studies conducted on pregnant who have voluntarily gotten the shot that show no fetal harm. That has been done. Prenatal vitamins are also category B yet no one is saying "i just don't think that prenatal vitamins are worth the risk." And yes, that includes organic and "food based" prenatals.
You are right, Fluzone, Agriflu, FluLaval, and Fluarix are now category B, but it is because of research in rabbits and rats. I am neither a rabbit nor a rat, and just because their babies are born without showing harm does not mean that there are not consequences on down the line for exposure to potentially harmful vaccine ingredients. On top of that, it is a real challenge to find a truly independent study on vaccine safety and effectiveness because they are still funded by vaccine makers. I think I would rather naturally boost my immune system rather than weaken it as it fights a weakened best guess that may turn out to be a much lower rate of protection, if any. Why risk the reported adverse reactions of guillian barre syndrome, seizures, infamation of the brain and spinal cord, nerve dysfunction, blood vessel inflammation, stevens johnson syndrome, arthritis, and paralysis to name a few. Why especially risk the reactions when carrying a baby?
Nope, I saw your post. My post proved to you that actually yes, there ARE studies done involving pregnant women who have had the flu shot. Are they double-blind studies? No, because that kind of study hasn't been done on pregnant women for any drug in decades, due to the ethical implications of doing double-blind medical research on pregnant women. So yes, while animal studies were considered in making the vaccine Category B, so were studies like the ones the article I posted to referenced - studies done with pregnant women who made their own decision to either get or not get the vaccine, and the outcomes associated with that decision. Several of the studies linked to in that article, it specifically notes, are independent studies that do not involve pharmaceutical companies.
If you can link to an independent medical study (or abstract, as often times the full studies are not published online without a paid subscription) that proves that your "reported adverse reactions" are (a) conclusively proven to be related to getting the vaccine, and (b) that the chances of them occurring to a person who got the vaccine are greater than the chances of an unvaccinated pregnant woman getting the flu and suffering the adverse reactions related to the virus, I will give your argument at least some consideration.
I have an excellent immune system and have never had the actual influenza virus in my life (though my husband has had it several times in the past 10 years). But when I was pregnant I got that shot as soon as my employer offered it. Because my doctor told me to do it, and the CDC advises that you do it, and I know I can't necessarily count on my excellent immune system when my body is carrying a baby (as I learned when I got multiple respiratory viruses when pregnant and I typically do not get sick at all).
Also, please stop referring to vaccines as "poison." They are not poison. If they were poison, everyone who got them would die immediately. If that were true, none of us who were born in the 70's and 80's and getting all of the newly available vaccines would not have reached child bearing age. Referring to modern medicine as "poison" is absolutely fear-mongering. Is Tylenol poison? Are vitamins? I don't see how vaccines could be considered "poison" when other medicine is not.
I have actually never had a flu shot in my life.. Except for maybe when I was a child and I don't remember. But not in my adult life. My SO has the flu right now and I'm going crazy with disinfecting our home and making him sleep in the living room. I don't want to catch it through contact ! I'm curious to know how anyone felt after taking the flu shot?? Wondering if I should just get the shot on my off days in case I need "recovery" time since our immune systems are compromised while pregnant
I have actually never had a flu shot in my life.. Except for maybe when I was a child and I don't remember. But not in my adult life. My SO has the flu right now and I'm going crazy with disinfecting our home and making him sleep in the living room. I don't want to catch it through contact ! I'm curious to know how anyone felt after taking the flu shot?? Wondering if I should just get the shot on my off days in case I need "recovery" time since our immune systems are compromised while pregnant
I always get the flu shot, for me it is a little sore in the spot where the shot was given. Nothing changed for me when pregnant, it was sore when I got it 2 weeks ago for a little longer than normal but nothing to complain about. Instead of a couple of hours when I was not pregnant it probably took more like 24 hours for the soreness to go away.
For some reason this subject is heating everybody up. My doctor told me to get the flu shot and it was highly suggested that my DH get one too. I think if your doctor recommends you to get it, then I would. Get it done in their office since sometimes they offer it or go to a minute clinic, patient first, etc. I got mine done at patient first.
Anyone at risk for catching the flu over 6 months of age should get the shot, including pregnant women. The shot is not recommended for people who have allergies to chicken eggs or people who have had an allergic reaction to the shot in the past. And if you are currently sick, wait until you are healthy to get the shot.
I have actually never had a flu shot in my life.. Except for maybe when I was a child and I don't remember. But not in my adult life. My SO has the flu right now and I'm going crazy with disinfecting our home and making him sleep in the living room. I don't want to catch it through contact ! I'm curious to know how anyone felt after taking the flu shot?? Wondering if I should just get the shot on my off days in case I need "recovery" time since our immune systems are compromised while pregnant
it's not a live virus, so there isn't a risk you'll get sick from the shot. your arm might be sore. however, know that it takes up to 2 weeks to build up immunity in your system...so if you got the shot today you could still catch the flu from your SO's current virus.
You might want to ask your OB to prescribe you Tamiflu...I believe you can take that preventatively when pregnant (not 100% on that thought, ask your OB), though it is not as effective as the shot.
Fyi there is more formaldehyde in an apple than a vaccine. So I'm assuming you're avoiding apples as well? Do some actual research and stop throwing around terms to scare people. Chemicals make up everything. Just because something is a chemical does not make it "poison".
Fyi there is more formaldehyde in an apple than a vaccine. So I'm assuming you're avoiding apples as well? Do some actual research and stop throwing around terms to scare people. Chemicals make up everything. Just because something is a chemical does not make it "poison".
Your source is hilarious!!! "Holistic Women's Health Psychiatry". She hopes that women can "trust that their bodies and minds know how to guide them". Wow. I think I'll listen to my doctor.
I guess PP can thank us all for injecting poisons into our bodies, creating herd immunity that has probably kept her family safe until now. You're welcome.
I guess PP can thank us all for injecting poisons into our bodies, creating herd immunity that has probably kept her family safe until now. You're welcome.
Mmmm, yes. All that herd immunity to the flu. Thank you so much.
Well you said your children aren't vaccinated against anything, so herd immunity is helping your family in regards to many other diseases. And yes, when people get their flu shots, it does help your family.
Eta: I've never received the flu shot in years past because I didn't see the point. I plan to this year because although I rarely fall ill, I don't want to risk my LO catching a rather preventable and potentially fatal disease.
Well you said your children aren't vaccinated against anything, so herd immunity is helping your family in regards to many other diseases. And yes, when people get their flu shots, it does help your family.
Eta: I've never received the flu shot in years past because I didn't see the point. I plan to this year because although I rarely fall ill, I don't want to risk my LO catching a rather preventable and potentially fatal disease.
I haven't ever had a flu shot either, but I'm getting one this year because my immunity is compromised from being pregnant. I've had the flu once and it was terrible. I couldn't imagine the damage done to my unborn son if I were to catch it now.
Your source is hilarious!!! "Holistic Women's Health Psychiatry". She hopes that women can "trust that their bodies and minds know how to guide them". Wow. I think I'll listen to my doctor.
I'm sorry. I really thought you would be capable of opening the links in the article yourself. Do I need to copy and paste for you? I honestly have no idea of who the author of the article is. I was referring to the studies linked, as *shocker* I don't take medical advice from someone on the internet. Would you also like to insult the pro-vaccine link given previously from a similar source with links in it, or was that one okay since you agree with it?
No thanks, I'll just keep laughing at you! I'm not even really paying attention to the nonsense you are spewing anymore.
I got my flu shot today. Influenza can be devastating to pregnant women and infants so I was happy to learn that not only will the vaccination help protect me, it should offer protection for my son as well. Which is great since he will be born during flu season.
Anti-vax sentiments make me very very sad. There are cancer patients (like my step-father), MS patients (like my mother), the elderly like my grandmother who is in hospice in a nursing home (93 years old!) and small children that I love that are at risk due to the growing number of folks that would rather trust Jenny McCarthy and Tila Tequila (oy) over medical science that is been proven to work.
Then there is the kids that suffer because their parents choose this for them. Like, if you want to put yourself at risk then that's your choice, but your kids have no choice and to me that is very very sad.
So I have a large portion of my family in the immune-compromised sector of the community that could die because some uninformed person with heaps of first world privilege is shooting the herd immunity all to Hell. That makes me angry and I can't respect this view point because it puts people in danger. It could cost them their LIVES. I think I have a right to be angry about that.
I'm 15 weeks and just got my flu shot 2 days ago. Although I'm I have a minor cold now. I'd much rather spend a day or so treating a cold and back to work on Monday than spend an entire week or two aching and motionless suffering from the flu. I had the flu last winter and I don't want to feel that miserable ever again, especially putting my baby through such an unbearable experience.
If you want some good laughs, as apparently anything suggesting a vaccine may be harmful is funny, go watch the documentary Trace Amounts. It never hurts to learn about what you are injecting into your body.
Re: Flu shot while pregnant
Married: Oct 20, 2013
BFP 1: Aug 31, 2015
EDD 1: May 12, 2016
DD1 Emma born May 12, 2016
An Honest Account of New Motherhood (with Postpartum Anxiety, Depression, and OCD)
BFP 2: October 07, 2019
EDD 2: June 20, 2020
Married: Oct 20, 2013
BFP 1: Aug 31, 2015
EDD 1: May 12, 2016
DD1 Emma born May 12, 2016
An Honest Account of New Motherhood (with Postpartum Anxiety, Depression, and OCD)
BFP 2: October 07, 2019
EDD 2: June 20, 2020
Not going to touch most of this, but the "do your research" argument really only makes sense if the "you" in that sentence is a medical professional who (a) has access ALL of the recent relevant research (SHOCKER: not all medical research can be found via google search), and (b) understands fully the various types of testing employed for research studies, and which ones yield the most accurate results (you don't have to be a medical professional to understand this generally, but it's typically reserved for people who are in research fields).
I am an accountant. I wouldn't presume to understand medical research in the same capacity as a doctor could. Just like I wouldn't expect a doctor to understand legal research, and I wouldn't expect a lawyer to understand socioeconomic research. ANYONE can write an online article citing medical studies and get it to support whatever their stance is. Without actually reading and interpreting the underlying medical research itself, which is difficult to get your hands on if you're not in a research field, you're not "doing your own research." You're reading articles that only reference the available research that ALREADY support the claims that the writer wants to make. Plenty of research is left out, and plenty of conclusions are taken out of context. I'm smart enough to understand that an accountant shouldn't be giving medical advice, just like I'd get a lawyer instead of trying to defend myself in a court of law. So I do what my doctor tells me.
I seriously hope you are never faced with any of the diseases that your children could have been vaccinated against but aren't. There's a reason vaccines exist...and it's because the diseases that they guard against can be fatal. I'm also not sure what "the risks outweigh the benefits for my family" means...what is the benefit of not vaccinating exactly? Actually, don't answer that, I'm sure it will not make logical sense to me whatsoever.
Also, this:
Jamie
I lurk. I snark. I offer sound advice if you're not BSC. You may not like me. I'm okay with it.
Also, I think what's more disturbing is you trying to scare OP into NOT getting the flu shot.
I'm just going to set this here for the anti-vaxxers on this thread:
***Creeps back into sad not-pregnant lurker corner before someone can shout "she doesn't even go here!"***
The fact there haven't been double blind medical studies on the flu vaccine in pregnant women is kind of irrelevant given that those studies are not done with any drug on pregnant women anymore, and there have been studies done on pregnant women that voluntarily got the vaccine that showed zero negative affects to the fetus as a result of the flu shot.
What "poison" are you referring to? The dead virus is naturally occurring and you'll almost certainly be exposed to it in its live form at some point this year, even if you don't happen to catch the flu. And the mercury free version has been given to pregnant women for the last several years (and actually even the version with mercury has less mercury in it than the average serving of fish, so I fail to see how that's an issue).
It is a fact supported by medical studies that pregnant women and small children/babies are at higher risk of dying of complications from the flu than an average healthy person. Facts and fear mongering are not the same thing.
But if lack of studies on pregnant women and "poison" are keeping you away from the shot, good luck with your drug, vitamin, and fish free pregnancy. Or does this stance only apply to actual shots? I mean are you avoiding prenatal vitamins and eating fish too for the same reasons you listed above, or is that too logical for you?
Oh look, facts:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/expert-answers/influenza/faq-20058522
And here's a great article summarizing the most recent studies on flu shots in pregnant women, so yes, these studies do exist (the actual stidies that are publically available are linked to in the article):
https://www.redwineandapplesauce.com/2014/01/08/the-real-story-on-the-flu-vaccine-during-pregnancy/
Nope, I saw your post. My post proved to you that actually yes, there ARE studies done involving pregnant women who have had the flu shot. Are they double-blind studies? No, because that kind of study hasn't been done on pregnant women for any drug in decades, due to the ethical implications of doing double-blind medical research on pregnant women. So yes, while animal studies were considered in making the vaccine Category B, so were studies like the ones the article I posted to referenced - studies done with pregnant women who made their own decision to either get or not get the vaccine, and the outcomes associated with that decision. Several of the studies linked to in that article, it specifically notes, are independent studies that do not involve pharmaceutical companies.
If you can link to an independent medical study (or abstract, as often times the full studies are not published online without a paid subscription) that proves that your "reported adverse reactions" are (a) conclusively proven to be related to getting the vaccine, and (b) that the chances of them occurring to a person who got the vaccine are greater than the chances of an unvaccinated pregnant woman getting the flu and suffering the adverse reactions related to the virus, I will give your argument at least some consideration.
I have an excellent immune system and have never had the actual influenza virus in my life (though my husband has had it several times in the past 10 years). But when I was pregnant I got that shot as soon as my employer offered it. Because my doctor told me to do it, and the CDC advises that you do it, and I know I can't necessarily count on my excellent immune system when my body is carrying a baby (as I learned when I got multiple respiratory viruses when pregnant and I typically do not get sick at all).
Also, please stop referring to vaccines as "poison." They are not poison. If they were poison, everyone who got them would die immediately. If that were true, none of us who were born in the 70's and 80's and getting all of the newly available vaccines would not have reached child bearing age. Referring to modern medicine as "poison" is absolutely fear-mongering. Is Tylenol poison? Are vitamins? I don't see how vaccines could be considered "poison" when other medicine is not.
it's not a live virus, so there isn't a risk you'll get sick from the shot. your arm might be sore. however, know that it takes up to 2 weeks to build up immunity in your system...so if you got the shot today you could still catch the flu from your SO's current virus.
You might want to ask your OB to prescribe you Tamiflu...I believe you can take that preventatively when pregnant (not 100% on that thought, ask your OB), though it is not as effective as the shot.
I called, she told me to get it ASAP because my of my job, I come into contact with a lot of people daily
I lurk. I snark. I offer sound advice if you're not BSC. You may not like me. I'm okay with it.
Jamie
Exactly.
DS1 01/08/03 DD1 08/11/04 DD2 10/06/08 DS2 09/30/14
SURPRISE! Hannah May born 01/22/16
Your source is hilarious!!! "Holistic Women's Health Psychiatry". She hopes that women can "trust that their bodies and minds know how to guide them". Wow. I think I'll listen to my doctor.
Eta: I've never received the flu shot in years past because I didn't see the point. I plan to this year because although I rarely fall ill, I don't want to risk my LO catching a rather preventable and potentially fatal disease.
No thanks, I'll just keep laughing at you! I'm not even really paying attention to the nonsense you are spewing anymore.
Anti-vax sentiments make me very very sad. There are cancer patients (like my step-father), MS patients (like my mother), the elderly like my grandmother who is in hospice in a nursing home (93 years old!) and small children that I love that are at risk due to the growing number of folks that would rather trust Jenny McCarthy and Tila Tequila (oy) over medical science that is been proven to work.
Then there is the kids that suffer because their parents choose this for them. Like, if you want to put yourself at risk then that's your choice, but your kids have no choice and to me that is very very sad.
X(So I have a large portion of my family in the immune-compromised sector of the community that could die because some uninformed person with heaps of first world privilege is shooting the herd immunity all to Hell. That makes me angry and I can't respect this view point because it puts people in danger. It could cost them their LIVES. I think I have a right to be angry about that.
LFAF Summer 2016 Awards:
DS1 01/08/03 DD1 08/11/04 DD2 10/06/08 DS2 09/30/14
SURPRISE! Hannah May born 01/22/16