Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

Newborn babies are vulnerable to the flu since their immune systems are still immature; however it is not possible to vaccinate babies younger than 6 months against the flu. So it has been seen that an effective antidote to newborn babies contracting the flu is to vaccinate the pregnant women for the flu.

In a study led by Angelia Eick of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health the impact of vaccination of pregnant women on the immunity of their babies was examined.

The findings of the study stated that women who were vaccinated during pregnancy were 41% less likely to have the flu ad 39% less likely to need hospitalization for flu or similar illness, when compared with women who were not vaccinated during pregnancy.

The protection accorded by vaccinating the mother was seen to be twofold – women who were vaccinated were less likely to expose their new born baby to flu infections, and they were also likely to pass on their resistance to flu on to their babies.

The findings of the study therefore were able to categorically state that pregnant women vaccinated against the flu during pregnancy were less likely to become infected in their first six months of life.