Pregnant women are often told to stay away from many medications and foods, but one medication could be tremendously helpful to their unborn children. A study printed in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showed that a maternal influenza vaccine can provide protection from the flu not only for the mother, but also for the newborn infant for the first six months of life. Younger children and babies have a higher risk of complications from the flu. Because newborns cannot receive the flu vaccine until they are six months old, this protection is critical. Just as the vaccine does not provide complete protection for adults, it doesn’t for infants either, but the chance of the newborn catching the flu or being hospitalized with respiratory infections is significantly reduced when their mother has received the flu vaccine.
The flu vaccine for the 2010-2011 flu season has been approved by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and protects against three strains of influenza including the 2009 H1N1 flu which caused so much illness last year. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting a flu vaccine every year as soon as it is available to provide the best protection.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
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