Thank you to this week’s guest blogger, Dr Richard Robbins!
Flu vaccine will be available VERY soon. Our first shipment is due at our office in 2 weeks!
If you are pregnant, flu vaccine is important both for you and your unborn child. Why?
- Pregnant women naturally have weakened immune systems for the duration of the pregnancy. National statistics confirm pregnant women have more risk of severe infection and even death from flu. Plus, severe flu infection can trigger preterm labor.
- Newborns do not typically do well if they get the flu. And currently, children under 6 months of age do not get flu vaccine. But if you get a flu shot, the antibodies will naturally cross the placenta and help protect your baby from birth through their first 6 months of life.
For more information on flu and pregnancy, go to http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/pregnant.htm
If you are not pregnant, you should consider getting your flu shot at our office on the day of your appointment. But we’d also like to point out that if you are not due in to see us for awhile, you can also make an appointment specifically for a flu shot (if you do not want to get one at your local pharmacy or your PCP’s office).
ObGyn issues aside, one last comment about flu vaccine. Yes, flu vaccine does not always cover the strains perfectly. And yes, some of you will get mild flu-like symptoms after a flu shot. But flu, with it’s 103-104 degree fever is much worse than flu shot side effects. And most importantly, if YOU don’t get the flu, you won’t spread it to those folks in our country who are the most susceptible to severe flu infections (the elderly, cancer patients, immunosuppressed folks, those with multiple serious medical problems, and of course the newborns.)
Who among us wants to expose someone else to flu?
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If you have any questions, please contact your healthcare provider and schedule an appointment at 770 751 3600.
