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- iHaveNet.com
By Deborah Kotz
Government officials are continuing their public relations campaign to get us to care about the H1N1 virus (aka swine flu) without scaring us
out of our wits. That has proven to be tricky: Recently, the
At the same time, the CDC is telling us not to panic, with the agency director, Thomas Frieden, saying he doesn't
believe the
All of the government heavyweights, including HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, agreed that pregnant women and parents of newborns should do the following: Get a seasonal flu vaccination now, since it's currently available; get the H1N1 vaccine in mid-October when it first becomes available; and call the doctor immediately if they have signs of the flu, such as fever, chills, coughing, or a sore throat. "It's very important for pregnant women to take very seriously any respiratory infection," said Tony Fauci, director of the
Fauci also said that the government will begin testing the H1N1 vaccine in pregnant women in early September. Responding to E-mailed questions from women concerned about the vaccine's risks, he said: "This vaccine is made in the same way, by the same companies, using the same process as the seasonal flu vaccine that we've been giving every year to pregnant women." Trouble is, the vast majority of pregnant women still skip the seasonal flu vaccine, and, judging by the number of safety questions that were E-mailed in, I'm guessing government officials are concerned that they will shun the H1N1 shot as well. On the webcast, officials emphasized the clear risks H1N1 infections pose to pregnant women and newborns over the very rare and still unknown risks that a vaccine would pose. (It's thought that babies born to women who received the H1N1 shot during pregnancy will have immunity, since that's the case with the seasonal flu vaccine.) "These serious risks are so rare," Fauci said, "you'd never be able to pick them up in a clinical trial."
The government officials and healthcare providers on the webcast also emphasized frequent hand-washing -- especially before
breast-feeding. That last bit of advice was interesting to me because it's something I never thought to do when nursing my own
three kids. While the H1N1 virus isn't transmitted via breast milk, a baby can become infected if a mom unwittingly spreads the
virus from her hands to her breast before nursing, said Laura Riley, an obstetrician-gynecologist at
Other common-sense steps pregnant women and new moms can take now to lower their chances of getting infected before the vaccine becomes available?
Avoid excess stress, eat a balanced diet, and make time for frequent naps, advised Tina Johnson, a nurse-midwife. Oh, and make sure your in-laws and parents are vaccinated if they're planning to help care for the new baby.
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Swine Flu Advice for Pregnant Women and New Moms