TTC and the flu shot

Jenniferk08 · September 2015

i work at a hospital and as October approaches we need to get our flu shot. This is my first year getting it. I O'd over the weekend and am now in my TWW. When I went for the shot one of the questions asked if I am or could be pregnant. I told the nurse we are TTC so I don't know. They told me if I am then I have to wait until after the first trimester.
Anyone else waiting to get the flu shot or doing it anyway during the wait.

1inthehopper · September 2015

I'm waiting to see how TWW comes out then will decide when to get it. When I was pregnant with my first though, I got my flu shot at my 1st OB visit at 8 weeks so not sure why they told you not until 2nd trimester? New guidelines or general guideline because they want you to talk to your own dr first??

redheadbride15 · September 2015

That is strange advice and I wouldn't trust it. Flu shots are safe at any point while TTC or when pregnant. In fact, this is exactly the time when a flu shot would benefit you the most! I also work in a hospital and for what it's worth I got a flu shot last Friday and no one asked if I was pregnant, though technically I probably was because I had a BFP by Monday.

carrieandr · September 2015

I got mine recently and they asked the same question. I said I was TTC, so they said they use a different shot if that's the case.

Jenniferk08 · September 2015

They use the inactive one but told me to wait. Or maybe it was after the first month not the first tri , I forget which they said. Once I know definite if I'm KU then I can go back.
It's just funny after 37 years I finally decide to get the shot and I'm told to wait.

redheadbride15 · September 2015

Bizarre. ALL flu shot formulations (not the live attenuated nasal mist) have been shown definitively to be safe in pregnancy. The CDC and Mayo Clinic websites all offer the most trusted information. The only true contraindications to getting it (the shot, that is) are severe allergies to the vaccine components or if you're a baby under 6 months. It sounds like they're catering to the paranoia surrounding vaccines... I think some places offer a preservative-free version of the shot for pregnant women and infants, though there is absolutely zero evidence that the preservative is harmful in the first place.

Get vaccinated everyone! It will lower your risk of severe illness in pregnancy, preterm labor, stillbirth, and pass on potentially life-saving protective antibodies to your baby.

Read more about flu vaccine myths here:
https://www.livescience.com/24354-6-flu-vaccine-myths.html

KLake42 · September 2015

I got vaccinated while I was waiting to O last week. I've had the flu once, and I know how terrible it is to have a high fever while pregnant, so I always get it. It bumped up my BBT by half a degree for one day, and that was it.

SLGILL1978 · September 2015

Wow! That is strange. I am in the camp that I get a flu shot every October. But I am also a diabetic so in addition to pregnancy, I always get it every year.

happyktmom · September 2015

Perfectly safe. Same shot - just not a good idea to do the live intranasal spray while pregnant.

carrieandr · October 2015

@redheadbride15 the pharmacist said since I was TTC, she would give me a preservative-free shot, like you said.

pekaboosmiles · October 2015

I don't know about a flu shot, but I was at the doctor recently and when I told him we were TTC, he strongly recommended that we both get a tetanus shot. But that was the only shot he gave me.

KLake42 · October 2015

I'm also requiring my wife to get vaccinated. It's a good idea for everyone in your home to get the shot, to boost your immunity, if you get pregnant.

dolphin012 · October 2015

my understanding is that it is perfectly safe and highly recommended especially if you are pregnant. The inactive version that is. You could always get it between AF and O if concerned. If it works for my schedule i might get mine tomorrow

.

agillespie15 · October 2015

If they said to wait, I'd DEF wait!! Idk what the side effects would b but whatever it is, it's not worth the risk factors for your baby

Sporty1216 · October 2015

I asked the nurse at the pediatrician and she said it's safe at any point, as does the mayo clinic, so long as it's the inactivated virus. But I also think you have to go with your gut. I just got mine and am in the TWW...

Piperella · October 2015

Thank you ladies for this important information. I've jotted it down for when the flu shot nurses come around. Do they carry both types of flu shots around when you get one done? Would I have to go somehwere special for the inactivated virus version?

Sporty1216 · October 2015

The nurse I talked to said that the only thing that has an active virus is the mist. When I went to get mine today at my employer, the paperwork they gave us clearly stated that the vaccine they were using was inactive.

Jenniferk08 · October 2015

My hospital/employer gave an inactive shot. But they said for me not to get it, maybe because if I am it's so early. I'll know in another week if I'm KU or not. If not I'll get it done during AF.