delaying ttc because of swine flu

[Anonymous]

Is anyone putting their ttc plans on hold because of swine flu? I was going to start ttc #2 in September...but now I am unsure if it is the best time. I might wait until I get the vaccine and then ttc.

[Anonymous]

I would not wait b/c of swine flu. Cases of swine flu are rare and if you are careful, there is no reason why you would catch it + it might take a while before you actually get pregnant. Just b/c you start TTC in September does not mean you will get pregnant in September, it might take a few months.
I am currently 37 weeks pregnant, have not gotten the flu vaccine and have not gotten sick in any way during my pregnancy. I am not worried at all about swine flu. I just avoid crowded places and wash my hands regularly.

[Anonymous]

I too would not wait. What with insurance plans changing, medical issues, doctor/nurse leavings, there is always something -- swine flu has a low risk and there are many things out there to worry about. But, you know best and if Sept doesn't feel right for you, decide what does.

[Anonymous]

I think if you wait till all is right with the world before producing offspring you will have a long wait...

[Anonymous]

Don't wait.

[Anonymous]

I just went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up after a miscarriage/d&c --- she told me to wait til I get the flu shot before TTC again because women shouldn't get the flu shot during their first trimester. She said she didn't know if they would have a separate shot for the swine flu and she said there have been 3 reported cases of the swine flu in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up after a miscarriage/d&c --- she told me to wait til I get the flu shot before TTC again because women shouldn't get the flu shot during their first trimester. She said she didn't know if they would have a separate shot for the swine flu and she said there have been 3 reported cases of the swine flu in this area.

That's interesting - did she mean the regular flu shot? I got a regular flu shot during my first trimester of pregnancy with my daughter at the advice of my OB. Did your doctor say why you shouldn't get a flu shot during the first trimester?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not wait b/c of swine flu. Cases of swine flu are rare and if you are careful, there is no reason why you would catch it + it might take a while before you actually get pregnant. Just b/c you start TTC in September does not mean you will get pregnant in September, it might take a few months.
I am currently 37 weeks pregnant, have not gotten the flu vaccine and have not gotten sick in any way during my pregnancy. I am not worried at all about swine flu. I just avoid crowded places and wash my hands regularly.

Absolutely moronic to say cases of swine flu are rare (um, do you work for the CDC? do you mean not many reported? do you mean rare during the middle of summer?) and "if you are careful, there is no reason why you would catch it." Planning to be on a remote island without contact with the rest of the world? This is not to fan hysteria, only to be AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT REALISTIC. Any flu can be highly contagious, and yes, you can be careful and wash your hands, but you might still catch the flu.

That said, I doubt I'd wait to ttc unless your physician so advises. The CDC currently has no position re: waiting on pregnancy. Depends on your own personal situation and whether you'd be disappointed if you expected a vaccination in October but it didn't arrive until December. Would you then continue to wait?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up after a miscarriage/d&c --- she told me to wait til I get the flu shot before TTC again because women shouldn't get the flu shot during their first trimester. She said she didn't know if they would have a separate shot for the swine flu and she said there have been 3 reported cases of the swine flu in this area.

That's interesting - did she mean the regular flu shot? I got a regular flu shot during my first trimester of pregnancy with my daughter at the advice of my OB. Did your doctor say why you shouldn't get a flu shot during the first trimester?

She did mean the regular flu shot (because she wasn't sure if they are even going to have a separate shot for the swine flu). I also thought it was okay (and actually encouraged) to get the flu shot when you were pregnant, but my doctor just said it would be better to wait to get the shot first because the first three months are so critical for development, etc. I got the sense it was more of, since you'll be really to start TTC again late September/early October, just hold off one more cycle to avoid any complications from the shot and/or getting pregnant and getting the flu before I got the shot. It really seemed more of a "why not just hold off since it will be around the same time anyway" kind of thing. Of course, when you're TTC even one cycle seems like forever (especially since I feel like I'm already behind with being pregnant/miscarrying/waiting for my period and I'm 36).

[Anonymous]

Has anyone seen anything official from the cdc about not getting the swine flu vaccine (or the regular flu vaccine) during the first trimester? Everything I've seen from the CDC recommends the shot for all pregnant women. I wonder if doctors are not recommending it in the first trimester b/c so many women miscarry in the first trimester and so the odds are that some women will miscarry right after getting the shot and then blame themselves for deciding to get the flu vaccine when really it was a coincidence. But that is just a theory.

[Anonymous]

I think the first trimester rule is an old one.

[Anonymous]

I think 15:54 is correct. Many people believe correlation is cause and would assume a miscarriage anytime after a flu shot was caused by the flu shot.

[Anonymous]

I just read the other day that officials are expecting quite a serious and early flu season with the swine flu, starting maybe as early as September although the swine flu vaccine won't be ready until October. It has been severe (pandemic) this summer in the Southern Hemisphere (which experiences their winter now) and for that reason is expected to likely be severe here as well. Fortunately, there has been no sign so far that the virus is mutating into a more deadly form.

[Anonymous]

I understand your concerns, and I think it is really up to your personal situation. We don't know the details yet about the swine flu vaccine, so it's hard to say...

However, pregnant women in all trimesters SHOULD receive the regular influenza vaccine - there is no danger from the vaccine itself: The flu shot is an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus)!!!! (as opposed to live virus, like the MMR vaccine) Your OB - whoever the poster was, is totally OUT OF TOUCH with the present recommendations.

The following is a study from the CDC on regular influenza vaccination:The results of this study indicated that 52% of OB/GYNs supported the use of influenza vaccination during pregnancy in the first trimester for healthy women, 95% supported use in the second and third trimesters, and 63% reported that they would recommend vaccination to women with diabetes who were at any stage of pregnancy and to women who were breastfeeding. Nearly half of physicians reported that they would not recommend influenza vaccination for a healthy woman during the first trimester of pregnancy. This pattern is consistent with the 2003 ACIP recommendations, in place at the time of this survey, that acknowledged vaccination after 14 weeks' gestation and beyond as preferred by many providers for women without other underlying high-risk conditions, to avoid coincidental association with spontaneous abortions, which are common in the first trimester (2). In May 2004, after the survey was conducted, ACIP published simplified recommendations, which stated that vaccination is recommended in any trimester for healthy pregnant women and pregnant women with high-risk medical conditions (4). Whereas physicians frequently recommended influenza vaccination to pregnant women, vaccination often was not available in their practices. Although the reasons for not offering influenza vaccination in their practices were not explored, a study of OB/GYNs identified inadequate reimbursement, lack of vaccine information for patients, and liability concerns as main barriers to vaccination of pregnant women among physicians who did not offer influenza vaccination in their practices (5). These findings underscore the need to improve influenza vaccine availability and use for both healthy pregnant women and pregnant women at high risk.

And, also from the CDC:
Is it safe for pregnant women to receive an influenza vaccine that contains thimerosal (preservative)? (BTW there is vaccine available annually that contains none of the preservative but quantities are limited)
Yes. A study of influenza vaccination examining over 2,000 pregnant women demonstrated no adverse fetal effects associated with influenza vaccine. Case reports and limited studies indicate that pregnancy can increase the risk for serious medical complications of influenza. One study found that out of every 10,000 women in their third trimester of pregnancy during an average flu season, 25 will be hospitalized for flu related complications.
Additionally, influenza-associated excess deaths among pregnant women have been documented during influenza pandemics. Because pregnant women are at increased risk for influenza-related complications and because a substantial safety margin has been incorporated into the health guidance values for organic mercury exposure, the benefits of influenza vaccine with reduced or standard thimerosal content outweighs the theoretical risk, if any, of thimerosal.


And the following regarding the swine flu vaccine:
July 29, 2009
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending that pregnant women be near the front of the line for swine flu vaccination. Those recommendations are based on new data from the CDC that paint a picture of how the first wave of swine flu affected pregnant women.
The study, published online Wednesday in the British journal The Lancet, shows that pregnant women infected with the pandemic H1N1 influenza strain have a much higher rate of hospitalization.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting that 10:04!!!!!!!!!