Children Of Mothers Who Got The Flu Shot During Pregnancy Turned Out To Be Completely Healthy

Children of mothers who got the flu shot during pregnancy turned out to be completely healthy

Vaccination opponents' claims that vaccination of pregnant women against influenza increases the risk of health problems in their unborn children has been completely refuted in a large new study published in the British Medical Journal.

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Vaccination opponents' claims that vaccination of pregnant women against influenza increases the risk of health problems in their unborn children has been completely refuted in a large new study published in the British Medical Journal.

Over the course of five years, Canadian scientists observed approximately 104,000 children, including 31,000 whose mothers received the H1N1 flu shot during the 2009 swine flu outbreak. As a result, scientists have found no signs that vaccination of mothers increases the risk of autism, respiratory infections, ear infections, cancer, sensory disorders, emergency hospitalizations, long-term illness or death in children.

Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario found only a small 5% increase in childhood asthma in children whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy. However, the frequency of complaints of stomach or digestive disorders in this group was 6% lower.

Vaccination safety concerns are commonly cited as a reason for low vaccination rates for pregnant mothers. However, according to the official guidelines adopted in the UK and most other countries, every expectant mother should be vaccinated, as pregnant women are at increased risk along with the elderly and babies.

There is growing concern among healthcare organizations about reluctance to get vaccinated, in part due to the proliferation of myths about the dangers of vaccines on social media. The current wave of anti-vaccination campaigns has been fueled by a now-debunked study by Andrew Wakefield, who argued that measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations were linked to autism in children. This wave intensified again after the swine flu pandemic in 2009, after which a massive vaccination campaign began.

Several studies have shown that influenza vaccination is not associated with an increase in pregnancy complications such as stillbirth or premature birth, and new work has shown that it is safe for young children.

“Overall, our results indicate that 2009 pregnancy H1N1 flu vaccination was not associated with negative health outcomes for children over a five-year period,” the authors argue. According to experts, vaccination of pregnant women prevents the small but serious risk of maternal death and morbidity and the likelihood of fetal death.