Pregnant women are likely to be offered flu vaccination in the later stages of pregnancy because of the strain that the illness could put on their heart and lungs in childbirth. The move is likely to cause concern among some pregnant women who are already anxious about advice that is offered on what foods and medications are safe.
Flu vaccination in pregnancy is already offered in the US but take-up has been low. In the UK, confidence in vaccines has also been damaged by the controversy over the alleged links between MMR vaccination and autism – now discredited in the eyes of most scientists.
According to the government’s expert advisory group on vaccinations, flu could pose a risk for women in labour and also for their unborn child. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations (JCVI) agreed in June “that pregnant women were at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza”. It recommended that women in the second and third stages of pregnancy should be routinely offered vaccination along with other groups for whom flu is high-risk, such as the elderly and those with heart conditions.