Krissi Danielsson reporting from About.com quotes an article from
the Minneapolis Star Tribune which showed how some pregnant women
are skeptical of the new H1N1 vaccine. Several women blogging at
the end of the article had experienced miscarriages with the H1N1
vaccine.
Pregnant women are considered one of the "high risk"
groups, but many women are less than thrilled about the idea of
getting the shot, reporting concerns about the safety of the vaccine
and possible effects for the unborn baby.
I can definitely see where they are coming from, being someone
who was concerned about safety of pretty much everything when
I was pregnant. And there's not much research on the safety of
any type of flu vaccine during the first trimester, much less
thimerosal exposure in the first trimester, although the CDC says
that flu vaccination is advisable in any trimester during a pandemic.
As with most cases, all you can really do is weigh the risks and
benefits of both courses of action and discuss your concerns with
your doctor - then make an informed choice on how to proceed.
What are your thoughts? Do you plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine,
especially if you are currently pregnant or hope to become pregnant
in the near future?
Comments (from readers)
October 9, 2009 at 2:41 pm
(1) Jo says: I got the flu vaccine (regular not H1N1) at 8 weeks
pregnant. Three days later I miscarried. I am not going to get
the H1N1.
October 26, 2009 at 11:07 am
(2) Regrets says:
I got both vaccines on Thursday. I was 9 weeks pregnant. I miscarried
on Sunday. I was told by several doctors to get these vaccines.
Now I wish I followed my gut feeling and not get them at ALL!
October 29, 2009 at 8:33 am
(3) says: i work in a hospital like setting and was told 'the
benefits outweigh the risks" 1am i got the vaccine, 3am i
started bleeding and craming, 3pm miscarried. you decide
October 31, 2009 at 1:29 pm
(4) sue says: I had the H1N1 vaccination and 24 hours later had
a miscarriage.
October 31, 2009 at 8:25 pm
(5) Linda Hill says: My daughter in law was 10 weeks pregnant
and had the H1N1 vaccine on Friday that night she miscarried.
November 1, 2009 at 9:58 pm
(6) Stephanie says: I received the H1N1 over a week ago. I am
now 5 weeks. I am doing well so far.
November 2, 2009 at 10:52 pm
(7) SoSorry says:
I was so ready to get the H1N1 vaccine last week and they were
only giving them to pregnant women. I was 6 weeks along and got
it and the next day I started cramping and miscarried. I already
had two healthy pregnancies and never miscarried or had any problems.
My doctors think I am crazy to think it was the H1N1 but if no
one looks into this than other women will not know. I am so sorry
that I got it.
November 3, 2009 at 4:30 pm
(8) Connie says:
I also received the H1N1 vaccination on October 22nd, 2009 and
went into labor on October 25th, at 16 weeks pregnant and we just
heard the heartbeat and everything was fine with my pregnancy
on October 16th, 2009, then on October 28th my water broke then
on October 29th, I delivered a stillborn baby boy, and no one
can tell me why…Everyone wants to say it did not come from
the shot but I believe it did. My baby was growing at the correct
pace and everyone wants to brush off the vaccination. I say if
you have the vaccination and suffer a miscarriage if they are
able to perform an autopsy have it done.
November 3, 2009 at 4:34 pm
(9) Connie says:
I also agree something needs to be done and looked more into with
this vaccination because most women are being advised it's just
something that happens, but I also had two healthy children normal
pregnancies and when I received this vaccination with my third
pregnancy, my baby is gone. Contact me at connie.adams@rocketmail.com
November 4, 2009 at 10:12 pm
(10) sioux falls, south dakota says:
I received the H1N1 vaccine on October 16th and started experiencing
cramping on the 22nd. I was nearly 17 weeks pregnant and gave
birth to a stillborn baby boy on the 23rd. Like many of the other
women here, the first thing I suspected was the H1N1 vaccine.
I immediately asked a nurse at the hospital if that would have
anything to do with it. Without hesitation, she told me "absolutely
not." I had reservations about getting the vaccine, but followed
the advice of my long trusted family doctor. In a follow up appointment
with my doctor 3 days after I lost my baby, I asked him if the
vaccine would have had any adverse effects on my baby. He also
said that it was not possible. I don't believe that my doctor
was necessarily lying to me, he was simply following the accepted
practices and opinions of his field. I do, however, believe that
as a nation, we are being lied to. This vaccine is NOT safe during
pregnancy. There has not been enough testing done to determine
this and there are far too many "coincidences" for this
to be anything but a result of a vaccine that was hastily pushed
into production and distribution in an effort to stop widespread
panic. I have read so many stories in defense of the vaccine that
will talk about how common miscarriages are, but I would challenge
you to ask ANY health care professional how common second trimester
miscarriages are. My baby was doing perfect developmentally and
I had felt him move earlier that day. My heart goes out to all
of you out there who have had to go through the same heartache
and loss that I have had in the last couple of weeks. There is
no reason that any woman or family should have to go through this.
Get the word out to all of the pregnant women that you know. I
know that if I had heard that women had been losing their babies
shortly after they received the vaccine, I would have followed
my gut and not gotten it myself. Maybe then Wyatt would have had
a chance at life.
November 5, 2009 at 11:51 am
(11) sue field says:
If you read the novatis or baxter pkg insert available on the
web you will find that 1. there is not sufficient testing on pregnant
women so they dont know how safe it is….its not recommended
for children under 2 is not a fetus a child under 2? there is
no conclusion on safety with breastfeeding….. Md's just want
to scare the hell out of you for the 1% that can get very sick..If
folks would just wash hands frequently, stay away from sick contacts
as much as possible and take supplements and live a healthy way…you
likely can avoid the flu altogether… SOOOOO Sorry for your
losses….my <3 breaks for you all
The following H1N1 swine flu vaccine miscarriage horror stories
are from a June
2010 birth club…..
EBWashington:
I am so upset. I was so excited to be pregnant after trying for
a year. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I joined this birth
club and I was due June 25th. We have two healthy boys with no
history of miscarriage. Everything was going great. Last Monday,
I got the H1N1 vaccine thimerosal reduced (mercury reduced for
pregnant women). On Tuesday morning, I started cramping and on
Wednesday I started bleeding heavily. My hcg was 50 on Wednesday
and I was almost 6 weeks along so it was low. They still thought
that I might be pregnant but on Friday my hcg was down to 22.
I am an emotional wreck. I feel like I had a healthy baby and
I caused this by getting the H1N1 vaccine. My doctors pushed it.
I researched online and there have been many miscarriages after
the H1N1 vaccine but they haven’t been reported since it
is hard to say what caused the miscarriages. I hope that I did
not cause this. I wish everyone the best.
Tayla08
I don’t have an answer for you, but a friend of a friend
just had a miscarriage 2-3 days after getting the shot. She was
7weeks. She had no previous history of m/c… No one can answer
if they’re related…it hasn’t been out long enough
and there haven’t been any studies done on pregnant women.
I will tell you, that it has made up my mind on getting it…I
won’t and I’m not going to get it for my DD either.
My daughter and I both had H1N1 last week, and although it truly
sucks…I think I’ll take my chances. One doctor will
tell you to get it and the next will tell you not too…you
have to do what’s in your heart.
90707
my heart goes out to you as i recently miscarried as well and
was due in june. i had a healthy heart beat at 6wks. then at 7.5
wks my son got the h1n1 mist vaccine which has live vaccine in
it. the nurse said to be careful b/c it could technically spread
if he rubbed his nose and touched a surface etc. the next night
i miscarried and 5 days later was diagnosed with h1n1. i work
from home, kids are home, hadnt been anywhere during that time.
so the chances that it is all related are very high. the flu mist
vaccine warns for immunocompromised patients (which includes prego)
to stay away from recipients of the flu mist for 21 days.
Snippet of an interview with Sustainble
Futures
Covers Pregancy, WHO, junk science, forced vaccinations
