Pregnant Women Are at Elevated Risk for Complications from H1N1 Flu

Health officials continue to warn expectant mothers of the risks of not getting the HINI vaccine, but there are still some women who are skeptical.

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. According to the CDC study, of the 45 deaths reported to the agency during the first two months of the swine flu outbreak, six were pregnant women.

Six deaths out of 45 doesn't sound alarming, but it's 13 times higher than the proportion of pregnant women in the total population. There are 3.4 million pregnant women in the country at any given time, and that percentage of deaths could increase this fall and winter, when experts expect a higher rate of swine flu infections.

 Maj. Dr. Shannon Ellis, chief of preventive medicine at Winn Army Community Hospital, said the risk of a flu shot is much lower than the risk of not getting vaccinated.