Flu vaccine information for pregnant women

“We’re approaching the dead of winter, and along with holiday cheer, we often see an increase in the number of state employees getting sick. Did you know that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) recommends that people get the flu vaccine every year to reduce the risk of contracting the flu and passing it to others?
They specifically recommend that pregnant women get the flu vaccine, since the flu is more likely to cause severe illness in pregnant women than in healthy non-pregnant women, and studies have shown that getting the shot before the baby is born provides them with antibody protection for a few months after birth. If you have more questions about the CDC’s recommendation, the research that’s been done on the safety of the flu shot, or more information about receiving a flu shot while pregnant or nursing, please check out the CDC’s page, or take a look at these links below:
Several studies conducted by the CDC and partners support the safety of the flu vaccine for pregnant women and their babies.

1. Review of reports to the Vaccine Adverse Reporting System (VAERS)(https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vaers/index.html)(Moro et al, 2011, Moro et al, 2011, Moro et al, 2017) found no evidence to suggest a link between pregnancy complications or adverse fetal outcomes among pregnant women and flu shots.
2. A study using VSD(https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vsd/index.html)data (Irving et al, 2013) found no increased risk of miscarriage among pregnant women who received flu vaccines in the 2005-06 or 2006-07 flu seasons.
3. A large study using VSD(https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vsd/index.html)data (Kharbanda et al, 2013) found no increased risk for adverse obstetric events (like chorioamnionitis, pre-eclampsia, or gestational hypertension) for pregnant women who received the flu vaccine from 2002 to 2009 when compared to pregnant woman who were not vaccinated.
4. A VSDstudy (Nordin et al, 2014) compared pregnant women who received the flu shot with an equal number of pregnant women who did not receive the flu shot during the 2004-05 and 2008-09 flu seasons. The study found no differences between the two groups in the rates of premature delivery or small for gestational age infants.
5. A large August 2017 study using VSD data found that the babies of women who received the flu shot during their first trimester had no increased risk of having children with major birth defects.”