Midwives Urge Pregnant Women To Go For Flu Jab
Midwives are concerned that too many pregnant women are not taking up the offered flu jab.
In fact, results from a study of 2600 by Emma’s Diary and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) found that 44 per cent of women avoid all vaccinations during pregnancy. They did so because they worried about the health risk to themselves and their unborn baby.
But as we near the end of November, the month when flu season tends to peak, there are concerns that pregnant women are leaving themselves vulnerable.
Flu can affect both mother and child in many ways. The worst is death, with flu during pregnancy the main cause of death between 2009 and 2012.
It is believed that half of these deaths could have been prevented had the flu vaccine been taken.
Other complications arising from flu during pregnancy is an increase in the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, still birth and death during the first week of life.
Because of this, the RCM is working with Emma’s Diary to try and improve the uptake and raise awareness about the complications of flu in pregnancy.
It’s not just health concerns putting pregnant women off. A 16 per cent of women said they were far too busy to go for a vaccination and a further 11 per cent were against vaccinations or didn’t believe it to be effective.
Head of Quality and Standards at the Royal College of Midwives, Mandy Forrester said: “One of the most important findings to come out of our survey was that pregnant women want and need more time to talk about vaccinations with their midwives before they make a decision. Having that time is so important because there can be misconceptions about some vaccinations and although it is useful to have leaflets and websites to refer to, there is nothing quite like having a real conversation, to talk through any concerns or questions.”
For more information on vaccinations during pregnancy please visit: http://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/pregnancy-and-birth/pregnancy/1st-trimester-of-pregnancy/avoiding-pregnancy-risks