Swine Flu Vaccination???

Hi All,

I am seeking some feedback on this issue. I am very confused over what the right thing to do is.
They are reccomending this for pregnant women but i am very concerned that there hasnt been enough testing on the effects to unborn babies. It is so new I dont think they would even know what impacts it may have on the child in the future. The info I found said they havent actually tested it bit it is just like the regular flu vaccine...very safe. It isnt a live virus either. The doctor gave me lots of information on it to make an informed choice but was reluctant to tell me either way to have it or not have it. When i asked her what she would do if it was her she said personally she wouldnt......so now i am even more confused! I cant help but think in past history there have been lots of things deemed safe at the time only to realise later they were damaging. Is this also one of those cases?
Has anybody had this? How did they feel and did tehy have any reaction to it? I would love to hear from anyone that has delivered since also. Any thoughts on this would be most welcome :)

ther has been a few threads about this already.
but personally i wouldnt have it due to the lack of testing and the fact that it has thirmidesol(sp?) which is mercury in it

If I was still pregnant, I still wouldn't be getting it. It's pretty useless, really - every year or two the flu virus mutates and we get yet another new strain that we need to be protected against. SARS, Bird flu, Equine flu, Swine flu... what will it be come flu season next year? I haven't heard anything in the media lately about swine flu here in Australia (I know there's a lot going on in America with it right now) so I figure the worst is over and it won't be long before we're all bracing for, I dunno, Feline flu or Pigeon flu or ****roach flu, kwim? It's pointless getting the swine flu vacc if it's not epidemic in Aus anymore (unless you or someone close to you has plans to travel overseas where it is still epidemic).

Just my two cents :) FWIW I'm also concerned about the lack of testing and conclusive evidence that it's safe for unborn children and expecting mothers. The thought of a stillbirth or miscarriage caused by swine flu is horrific, but what are the chances, you know? I think I'd rather take the risk of going 'unprotected' and just be very careful about hygiene etc, than take the risk of a vacc that might not work, and might have just as serious adverse effects as a bad case of swine flu. Good luck with your decision, whatever you choose to do :)

There are some sticky threads in general pregnancy discussion. :) I'd opt for some good, strong probiotics instead, 80% or so of your immune system is in your gut.

Im not getting it

There has not been enough testing on it , it was rushed and i dont trust it

There are so many flues out there so many sickness so many things that if we get it , or get sick the baby could be harmed, so why are we only getting the swine flue vaccine ? why not a vaccine for every thing else?

i catn trust something that was so rushed, how could they have enough time to test the after effects on our babies ?

but in the end its a personal choice and only you can make it for u and your baby :)

Hi Jojo,

I must be one of the very few that has had the vaccination. I was a little hesitant but spoke to my OB and GP who both said that it is better to have it than get the swine flu which will be worse for me and bubs. My DH also travels heaps with work so thought it wouldn't be worth risking it. I haven't had any reactions to the vaccination and I feel normal, I have also felt bubs moving around.

What ever you choose to do it has to be what is best for you and bubs and your situation.

The normal flu kills around 40,000ppl each year, swine flu has killed much much less than that!
It has now come out that the panvac vaccine has 2 dangerous compounds, thimerosol made 50% with mercury and squalene which tricks your immune system cells into killing your own body cells.
Nope I wouldn't be getting it, for me its the unknown...no one can give any clear answers just what they know or want to know etc. I'd hate to find out later down the track that my precious child has any "problems" due to a vaccine I could have chosen not to have.

I won't be getting either. There's just no solid proof or evidence to show that it won't harm my unborn baby now or in the future. For me, I feel the risks of getting the flu (any strain of the flu) are less than the potential risks of having a flu vaccine.

I trust my body to be able to fight off illness. In fact, I had a strain of the flu (not swine) around a month ago. It took me two weeks to get over it because I couldn't take anything. My GP suggested I could take flu meds but it was probably better to ride it out - so I did. My OB agreed saying that my own body would be producing antibodies against the flu I had and therefore providing protection for the baby anyway. I'd prefer that natural way of protection than injecting my body with synthetic chemicals.

Thank you everyone for your input.....its such a hard thing to decide.

My insticts tell me to not get it so i think i will follow my intuition and definantly try my hardest to look afetr myself and keep healthy!

I don't want to get the jab but am really nervous about not having it done as well. Its all well and good to be hygienic, but you just can't control others and there are some real pigs out there!!!
I try really hard to avoid any sickness when pregnant and after having a cough so bad in my last pregnancy that I tore all my stomach muscles, I really go out of my way to avoid places /people where it could be risky, but I have kids too and its a bit hard to live life and stay away from the crowds as well. Today I found myslef stuck in a room with 4 really sick people, OMG I could have screamed, one girl who i know quite well (socially)surprised me, she kept coughing, really deep chesty flemy cough without covering her mouth and her kids were too, we were'nt in a situation where anything could be done about it...BUT....:doh:I can't believe that she would'nt know better. So now I am just hoping that neither myself or the kids come down with it.

Thats the sort of stuff that worries me, perhaps if she had swine flu and still would attend a meeting and behave in that way. Yes i am paranoid!!!:redface:

I was speaking to a doctor friend about this the other day. She is also pregnant. She will be getting it when she is in her second trimester. She believes it is safe, but may as well wait until all babies organs etc are formed.

Her reason for getting it is that she is regularly exposed to swine flu and has a good chance of getting it. She also said that she wouldn't bother if she were me because I have a much lower chance of being exposed due to my lifestyle being a stay at home mum etc.

So basically her opinion was that it depends on how likely you are to be exposed to swine flu and how well you would be able to cope if you did get it.

Hi JoJo,
I asked both my local GP and my ob and they both advised not to have it for the same reasons as you said not being enough data on the effects on the unborn baby.

Actully my GP's actual words were if I wanted to take 4 or so months to think about it, it would n=be good....ie bub will be born...

I am in high risk as I am preg and diabetic.

My DH also doesn't wna tme to have it but it scares me the whole swine flu and the prdications that it will come back as a more severe srain after the european winter.....

I gues the bes thing to do is to research as much as you can to make an informed decision but to also be comfprtable with the decision you make.
( Also might wan't to consider your DH/ DP views in this as well. )

Em

It is such a personal decision.
I had the flu vaccine while in my 3rd trimester with Phoebe (because she'd be born in flu season). The swine flu vax is the same as the flu vax, but with an added ingredient (the dead swine flu virus), so if it were me, I'd have it. The flu vax changes every year - they add a more current strain. Personally, I trust it. But everyone is different.
I am more afraid of the illnesses than vaccines.
The fever is the thing to worry about, as high temperatures can have a harmful affect on the fetus. So if you feel yourself getting ill with a temperature, make sure you see to it.

I'm starting to get very aggravated with the propaganda over the swine flu. The seasonal flu has killed tens of thousands this year but no one is talking about that are they? The swine flu is just that....another strain of the flu. The "flu" period has the potential to kill.

My doctor along with many doctors in the area are not ordering the swine flu vaccine. He is also not encouraging his OB patients to get it. I am going to wait it out until some independent studies come back with results before doing anything.

I am in two minds about this vaccine.

I can appreciate why there is so much emphasis on pregnant women having it done but really, I am not all that comfortable with having a vax when there has been so little testing done iykwim.

I do get my regular flu vaccine every year and I was about 13 weeks when I had it done this year BUT the only reason I do this is otherwise I end up with a nasty chest infection.

I am about ready to pop so I won't be having it done. I did keep a pretty good eye on my temp when I did get sick about half way through my pregnancy and it never went high - perhaps you can do the same - just keep an eye on your temp??

Nae x

I had mine doen just for one simple reason : SWINE FLU is WORSE than a VACCINE WHICH CONTAIN THE DEAAAD VIRUS!!!

Yes the "normal" flu has killed more people than the swine flu. Why? Simple: when the swine flu was discovered, extreme precautions were made to contain and prevent the desaese from spreading. Simple as that.

Wake up people, would you rather have the risk of losing your baby and possibly yourself or get a VACCINE that might a few side effects but keeps both of you alive?

I am 23wks pregnant and y baby is PERFECTLY fine like it would have been in mormal circumstances.

Stop making such a big fuzz about the vaccine an be happy that it is out there, available for you :rolleyes:

My ob also said he wouldn't have it done if he was me. Nor is he planning on getting it done himself. My Aunty and Uncle are both in medical professions in America, my Uncle is in pharmasutical (sp?) research and Aunty is a nurse and they also both said they wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

It is a very personal decision, what's right for one person won't be right for another. For me, I'm not getting it done. But that's my beliefs and I'm happy with my decision. If you feel in your heart you should get it done, then do it.

Hope this made sense???

its a personal choice but i wont be exsposed to ppl with it and well its almost died down in wa now

that and my first has autisim i aint mucking about with anything if i was at risk i would

i dont even get the flu acine as my imune system isnt weak

Ok - So I bucked the trend and had mine today.

There are several reasons but the main one being that I spoke with no less than 6 Doctors who are all experts in vaccinations and the flu virus and asked them if they would have it if they were pregnant. All six of them said that they would. Simply because it is not different to any other flu vaccination (so if you are happy to have those then why the drama about this one) and pregnant women are getting very bad outcomes if they are catching swine flu, particularly in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy, and I will be in that category come April next year which co-incides nicely with the predicted time that it will return to Australia.

It is an entirely personal choice and there are pros and cons for both arguments but on this one I am more willing to risk the one in a million chance of a side effect for me or bub than I am willing to risk catching it and the side effects of that.

I had it last week for the following reasons:

I live in Glasgow, a major hotbed for H1N1, and i have to use public transport to get about and cannot avoid being "out in the world".

I read all the data i could find. For those who are interested there was a large study done on 5000 people with the pandemrix H5N1 vaccine (same vaccine, different flu strain) including high-risk and pregnant patients and there was nothing statistically significant in terms of miscarriage, stillbirth, birth defects or short-term affects on the children (could be they will all die aged 7, since the babies in question are still preschoolers, but nothing of note so far). I found nothing to suggest that the vaccine is unsafe.

I was sick with regular flu last year, not pregnant and i had a fever for weeks, and it took me about 6.5weeks from first symptom to last to get over it, with a further 2-3 weeks of weakness. In addition it came on so fast that i couldn't have gotten something like Tamiflu in time. On friday morning i had a mild sore throat and felt a bit off, the following morning DH rushed me to A&E with a swollen face (2ndary infection in sinus) and closing airways (2ndary infections in throat, windpipe and lungs). I am SO rarely ill, that was a big wake-up call as to how fast and how hard a virus like that can hit me. I cannot imagine how i would cope if i got that ill again while pregnant. I'm not offered the normal flu vaccine but if i was i would take it!

I have had 4 miscarriages and at least one followed a fever, which might have been unconnected but also might not have been, given studies show that fever can be teratogenic to the unborn baby.

So i decided to get it. The reason the deaths from swine flu are being talked about more is because old and disabled people generally get illest and/or die of seasonal flu. Which is economically irrelevant. With H1N1 young people, because they have never been exposed to an H1N1-type virus, are more likely to get it, more likely to be illest and more likely to die. It is costing the UK economy millions that so many young people are off work and in hospital. Hence it is in the news and the government want to stop it ASAP. Unfortunately it is money, once again, that makes the dfference.

It's a personal decision everyone has to make themselves. If it turns out the baby i'm carrying is autistic it will mean precisely nothing to me since me, my dad, DD, DH and most of the other members of my family have traits or are on the spectrum! :) In fact maybe i'll blame the vaccine if it comes out NOT autistic!

Bx