Flu Shot for prego Mommies?

echiappone · September 2014

Debating whether I should get the flu shot this year. Sometimes I do & sometimes I don't. I did get it when I was preggers with my last & I ended up in the ER cause I was so sick.

Ndracer · September 2014

There are a couple threads on this already. Most doctors will recommend because you pass the immunity on to your baby. But it's a personal choice. If you do get it make sure they give you the preservative free version which is safe for pregnancy.

Ndracer · September 2014

Yep what @norsern‌ said.
Oh and don't get the flu mist. It is a live vaccine and can make you sick and is not safe for pregnancy.

lhall1008 · September 2014

Last baby I got the flu shot and had the flu. Idk about passing the immunity onto baby though bc my DS was hospitalized when he was 3 months with the flu and RSV. I work in healthcare and it is mandatory that I get a flu shot again this year. Here's hoping I don't get sick again... I think everyone responds differently.

Ndracer · September 2014

Well as you know when the make the shot they are trying to predict what strain will be the most prevalent. It's really an educated guess and some years they don't get it right or the virus is slightly different. I know everything I have read indicates the reason they want you to get it while you are pregnant is so you can pass the immunity on to your unborn child. Once born they can't get the shot until they are older and they are at such a risk. Again it's a personal choice. I've gotten one for 20 years and of work with the public, going into people homes where they are often sick (and don't warn you) and flying a lot. In those 20 yrs I have gotten the flu twice. Once when I had not gotten my shot yet. The other time was last year when I think they shot was off from what strain of the virus actually spread.

ldmw · September 2014

I've never gotten a flu shot before. Are there risks for me getting it the first time during pregnancy?

LolaCachia · September 2014

My Dr is pushing heavily for the flu shot, but I have never gotten one and just feel so strongly that it is something I am not comfortable getting, esp when I don't know how I will react or not react to it, let alone my 8 week old growing buggy! I know pretty much everything you read says it's safe and even recommened, but I just can't shake my anxious feeling.

Lalalady54 · September 2014

The flu shot will not hurt you or your baby.

Getting your flu shot is the recommendation of the medical community for a reason and many doctors and scientists have studied the risks and benefits and clearly the benefits far out weigh the risks or it wouldn't be the recommendation.

So please listen to your doctor, you go to them for a reason, and you should trust them. If you don't trust them, find a doctor you do but realize every reputable OB will recommend the flu shot.

vballgirl78 · September 2014

I will most likely get it at my next OB appointment in early October. I get one every year now (I had the flu 15 years ago- no shot that year) especially since I work in an elementary school which is filled with germs. I got one last time I was pregnant and had no problems from it.

Sunshine4020 · September 2014

@LolaCachia @idmw I am in the exact same situation. Never get flu shots and don't want to start now.... I don't think I'm going to.

lauragnow · September 2014

Definitely get the shot. I didn't for years. Then, when was pregnant, got the flu & the fever was very dangerous. Ended up taking Tamiflu, even though it is not approved as safe for pregnant women. Not what I wanted, but needed to do something to get well. I will be getting the shot this time!

allofit0815 · September 2014

Mine recommended not getting the flu shot in the first 12 weeks - not that it causes any problems, but if something happened I/patients would blame it.

Pintobean39 · September 2014

I'm going to get mine as soon as I can. I wanted to talk to my RE and see if I should get it now or wait a few weeks. I've worked so hard to get this pregnancy, I'm not going to let something like the flu that can possibly be preventable screw it up.

EIsieMae · September 2014

I've gotten the flu shot with both of my previous pregnancies, and I plan on getting it with this pregnancy as well. My OB highly recommends it, I assume because she would like to keep me and my unborn child safe

PinkRoses53 · September 2014

I debated it with my first pregnancy but after doing a ton of research up until the hour before my appointment, I decided to get it. I think the benefits outweigh the risks for me. I'll get it this time around, too.

chaitealover · September 2014

I'm getting it as soon as I'm out of the first trimester! My ob said not to do it before then.

mylittleladies1229 · September 2014

I never got a flu shot until I was pregnant with my twins. I had no issues with it didn't get sick that year. My girls were born at 30w in the dead of winter. Thank goodness I wasn't stubborn about getting the shot. It would have been worse contracting the flu and making my girls sick or not being able to see them in the NICU bc of a poor decision. One of my friends from college contracted the swine flu while pregnant. They were able to deliver her baby and the mother passed away a day later. How sad is it that a simple shot could have prevented a tragic loss?

raquen40t · September 2014

What they don't tell u is that when you get the flu, your own body builds immunities against it and those immunities are passed to your unborn child.

There are many unknowns about the flu vaccine . A wise person will not go ahead with something without knowing all the risks. However a lot of times Drs/Obstetricians will promote something as fail proof and could care less about informing patients of both the negatives AND positives of NOT taking the shot. Don't be pressured, it's your body.

raquen40t · September 2014

I don't think it is an accurate assumption that vaccines will prevent illness. She may have gotten sick either way. In fact, I have a friend who's 3 month old died a day after taking five regularly scheduled vaccines. But of course he was told that the baby immune system was already compromised. What good did the vaccines do? We'll never know.

MrsPDX · September 2014

Ugh DH has the flu now... And it doesn't look like I have it yet. Should I wait for my first prenatal to get it, or get it asap? I'm really torn....

HoneyBearandTheBug · September 2014

I will be getting it. I get it at my OBs office during a regular visit- whichever one she recommends it at. We live next to NYC and I have 2 kids- lots of exposure here.

welly01 · September 2014

I got the flu shot last time I was pregnant and I'll be getting it again with this one. They just did free flu shots at work but they wouldn't give them to pregnant women without a doctor's note. I'm hoping my OB can give me one at my first appointment.

CoPilot2012 · September 2014

I got mine yesterday at my first appointment. Today I just feel tired. But that could be from all my excitement yesterday.

TeacherMom2015 · September 2014

My doctor's office doesn't push it, but will give you one if you want. I've seen a lot of people on here say pregnant women have to get the preservative free kind, but according to my OB's office and a paper from the CDC that they gave me, it says the only can we can't have is the nasal mist. They said there' s no reason to get the preservative free except for personal choice.

nikiswimr · September 2014

The flu is far more dangerous in pregnancy than the flu shot. If it makes you feel better, get the preservative free version. Do not take the nasal mist (live vaccine). The flu vaccine is the best guess for which strains will be most virulent in the coming season. For obvious reasons, it is designed and given before flu season starts. So it may not be 100% effective if the predictions are off (why there are so many anecdotes about getting the flu after the shot), but over all it performs well. I see people, young and old, who die in the ICU every year because of the flu. Believe me, you do not want the flu when pregnant.

Morenajuliet · September 2014

I got one last time and plan on getting one this time.

fitzgirl17 · September 2014

My OB told me pregnant women have to wait until the 12 week mark. But I will be getting it and so will DS and DH.

lesleypdx · September 2014

I got my preservative free flu shot at my OB clinic a few days ago. They said women in their 3rd trimester took priority in getting the vaccine, but gave me mine since I work in the ICU. She said it was perfectly fine to have the vaccine in the first trimester, especially since I'll be in a high risk environment throughout the entire flu season. I see patients- young and old, frail and healthy- on ventilators, in induced comas, sick, Sick, SICK with the flu every year. You just never know what kind of flu season it will be til it hits.

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