Flu during pregnancy

daraceleste

I recently was diagnosed with Flu strain A and I am 6 months pregnant. I spent 5 days in bed (I have never done that before!) with fever, vomiting, sore throat, sneezing, coughing, and severe congestion. I managed to stay hydrated enough to stay out of the hospital an I'm doing much better now. Anyway, I was reading about a link between flu/fever during pregnancy and the baby having autism. I'm not super freaked out about it, just wondering if anyone has any information.

Ashesha13

I work with children with autism and come across tons of research and honestly haven't paid a single thought to any while pregnant because there is so much out there but none of it proven. I won't mention them because honestly the worry and stress over them are probably more harmful. Focus on getting better and just enjoy your pregnancy and your baby. Seriously there are correlations like how close one lives to a freeway. Really? Don't think it's something you need up move over. With such a broad spectrum and range of diagnosis there are going to be random correlations that are most likely just that random and have nothing to do with the cause

lightgetsin

Just curious but did you get the flu shot this year?

pantsarella

Ashesha13:

I work with children with autism and come across tons of research and honestly haven't paid a single thought to any while pregnant because there is so much out there but none of it proven. I won't mention them because honestly the worry and stress over them are probably more harmful. Focus on getting better and just enjoy your pregnancy and your baby. Seriously there are correlations like how close one lives to a freeway. Really? Don't think it's something you need up move over. With such a broad spectrum and range of diagnosis there are going to be random correlations that are most likely just that random and have nothing to do with the cause

This. If there was any proven link between the flu and autism, the flu during pregnancy would be a much bigger deal than it is. It just sucks because we can't take anything. I wouldn't think twice about it.  

amcongdon

Even with the "doubled" rate of autism seen in this study which the authors aren't even claiming goes so far as to say the flu causes autism, you still have a less than 1% chance of your child having autism. My MIL freaked me out with this statistic because my step-son got the flu and then I read it for myself. Going from .4% to a .9% chance was still a really low chance to me.

BelhurstBride

nola78:

IIRC from reading that article, the authors weren't necessarily claiming that the flu was linked to autism as much as high fevers during pregnancy.  But maybe I'm not remembering correctly.  

Regardless, I'm glad to hear you are feeling better.   

Agreed, it was more the fever they were looking at. And I believe they were more concerned with the first tri.  

daraceleste

tmsgrl:

Just curious but did you get the flu shot this year?

I did! I was so surprised when I was diagnosed. I have never gotten the flu shot before and I have never had the flu before this. 

JCWhitey

daraceleste:

tmsgrl:

Just curious but did you get the flu shot this year?

I did! I was so surprised when I was diagnosed. I have never gotten the flu shot before and I have never had the flu before this. 

Despite popular belief, you can still get the flu if you have the flu shot.  From the CDC: 

How well is the vaccine working this season?

CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the vaccine protects against illness. These estimates provide more information about how well this season?s vaccine is working.

Findings from early data suggest that this season?s vaccine so far is reducing the risk of having to go to the doctor for influenza by about 60% for vaccinated people. The data are published in ?Early Estimates of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness ? United States, January 2013,? in the January 11, 2013, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

These estimates are within the range of what is expected during seasons when most circulating influenza viruses characterized by CDC are like the viruses included in the vaccine, which is what we are seeing this season. These findings also are similar to those published in a recent meta-analysis, which summarized the benefits of influenza vaccines using data from randomized controlled clinical trials. Influenza vaccination, even with moderate effectiveness of about 60%, has been shown to also reduce the following: flu-related illness, antibiotic use, time lost from work, hospitalizations, and deaths.

 

60% is better than 0%, but a lot lower than 100%.  It did possibly shorten the amount of time and weaken your symptoms, although it still sounds like you got a bad case, it may not have protected you at all if it lasted that long!