Flu and Newborns (As Seen on Live at Five)
By: Erica Edwards NBC News
Updated: January 18, 2013
These newborns are too young for a flu shot...
But now that we're in the middle of a bad flu season -- doctors say these babies have protection for the first 6 months of life -- if their mothers got the vaccine while pregnant.
"I got it before the flu season started, when i was a little shy of 7 months." said new mom, Leyla Otero
"The antibodies cross the placenta, and then if she breast feeds, uh, she's giving more antibodies in the breastmilk." said Edward McCabe, M.D. Ph.D, March of Dimes
Dr. Edward McCabe of the March of Dimes points to a recent study of more than 117-thousand pregnancies in Norway. It concluded the flu shot is safe for pregnant women and their babies -- without any bad side effects.
Pregnant women who got the flu were more likely to miscarry. That risk was slightly decreased if they'd been vaccinated, but still got a milder or different strain of the flu.
"This serious business. It's important for moms to get their flu shots." said McCabe
The flu also tends to hit the oldest members of society hard.
While public health officials say overall flu cases are beginning to decrease... Flu-related hospitalization rates among the elderly have risen sharply.
The latest data from the centers for disease control and prevention show flu cases remain widespread throughout the country. Only Hawaii, Tennessee and Washington D.C, have been spared the brunt of the viral storm.
For more information:
Flu.Gov
CDC
But now that we're in the middle of a bad flu season -- doctors say these babies have protection for the first 6 months of life -- if their mothers got the vaccine while pregnant.
"I got it before the flu season started, when i was a little shy of 7 months." said new mom, Leyla Otero
"The antibodies cross the placenta, and then if she breast feeds, uh, she's giving more antibodies in the breastmilk." said Edward McCabe, M.D. Ph.D, March of Dimes
Dr. Edward McCabe of the March of Dimes points to a recent study of more than 117-thousand pregnancies in Norway. It concluded the flu shot is safe for pregnant women and their babies -- without any bad side effects.
Pregnant women who got the flu were more likely to miscarry. That risk was slightly decreased if they'd been vaccinated, but still got a milder or different strain of the flu.
"This serious business. It's important for moms to get their flu shots." said McCabe
The flu also tends to hit the oldest members of society hard.
While public health officials say overall flu cases are beginning to decrease... Flu-related hospitalization rates among the elderly have risen sharply.
The latest data from the centers for disease control and prevention show flu cases remain widespread throughout the country. Only Hawaii, Tennessee and Washington D.C, have been spared the brunt of the viral storm.
For more information:
Flu.Gov
CDC
