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• November 21, 2009 4:47 a.m.

  Pregnancy Books Listing of the best pregnancy books to read during each week of your pregnancy

  - Pregnancy Books

• November 19, 2009 8:32 p.m.

  Thank you all for the information. After reading all of your comments, I decide I'll just wait a little more to see if any official and professional inputs that are more firm and specific. From what I've read, the conclusion is that SO FAR THERE'S BEEN NO CLINIC EVIDENCE ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE VACCINE ON PREGNANT WOMEN AND THEIR UNBORN BABY, plus they did specify very clearly PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD GET THE VACCINE WHEN CLEARLY NEEDED. I am 6 weeks pregnant and working from home, so I'll just try to stay healthy and avoid crowds as much as I could. And for those who meet with people on a daily basis, then you may consider the shot. The worse scenario is catching the H1N1 flu while pregnant, but as long as we get treated within 48hrs, then seems that we'll be fine. Well ... I am worried either way, but again, I'll rather wait for more info than getting the shot that the manufacturers have no guarantee for us pregnant women!

  - Tu

• November 6, 2009 8:21 p.m.

  Dr. Roger Harms- Please provide the link to the scientific evidence of safety for pregnant women to receive both H1N1 and Seasonal flu vaccines. I am very interested in seeing this evidence; especially for the H1N1. I am certainly surprised that this evidence exists as the vaccine manufacturers themselves (every single one of them) state on the package inserts that "no" testing has been done to prove its safety in pregnant women. Please provide this scientific evidence that you know of. Thank you.

  - Jill

• November 6, 2009 2:49 p.m.

  I just wanted to say that I have 2 friends that each recieved the H1N1 vaccine and each of them went into premature labor within 48 hours after recieving the vaccine. 1 was 33 weeks and the other was 29 weeks. Read the literature and do the research.

  - Mandy

• November 6, 2009 9:26 a.m.

  A miscarriage three days after a flu shot is almost certainly unrelated and it is certainly unrelated to the mercury content. The mercury content in the thimerosal used in influenza vaccinations is less than the content in a can of tuna and is exactly the same as has been present in flu vaccines we have been using year after year. Those shots have been definitively shown to not be associated with miscarriages or bad outcomes in children born after exposure. Scientific evidence supports pregnant women receiving both the H1N1 vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine and I strongly recommend it to you and all of my own patients.

  - Dr. Roger Harms, MayoClinic.com

• November 5, 2009 7:45 p.m.

  PLEASE READ IMPORTANT: For those of you pregnant women that have received the H1N1 shot already I wish you well; for those that haven't please read this first, and be sure to read the comments section before making any choice! http://miscarriage.about.com/b/2009/09/29/some-pregnant-women-fearful-of-h1n1-vaccine.htm#comment-12992

  - Jill

• November 5, 2009 12:43 p.m.

  When will the Mayo Clinic OB Department be offering the safer thimerosal-free H1N1 vaccine? I know I personally would be more willing to recieve this vaccine to protect me and my DEVELOPING baby if it was free of mercury. I'm tired of being treated like an extremist when I've called and requested this type of vaccine. (Even though thimerosal has been taken out of children's vaccinations as a "precationary" measure.) Last time I called the appt. desk told me they would NEVER have the thimerosal-free H1N1 vaccine. I'm pretty sure she was just tired of the question! Then she refered me to the Mayo Clinic Flu Hotline which I have since discovered is not up and running.

  - Mindy

• November 5, 2009 12:18 p.m.

  I'm from a town of 2000 people and we are going through a baby boom of sorts. There are about 20 of us pregnant and all due within 3 months of each other. Five of us had the H1N1 vaccine 2 weeks ago and all of us, myself included jsut today, started to have preterm contractions. I'm not saying the shot caused this but what are the odds that this could happen. I've been searching the net to find any information or blogs I can to see if this has happened to others but to no avail.

  - Kathy

• November 4, 2009 11:24 a.m.

  I have reviewed the CDC website and it stated that the vaccine is recommended to pregnant women based on the fact that they are at increased risk of getting the swine flu because they are considered immunosuppreseed. Nothing regarding the fetus or baby. There are no studies done on this drug. I've also just heard that they now have a mercury free (no thimeresol) vaccine for pregnant women. So all the pregnant women who lined up and recieved the mercury containing vaccine have already subjected their babies to high levels of mercury. I too am on the fence but it seems like people are rushing into their decisions based on the media.

  - Mandy

• November 4, 2009 9:07 a.m.

  I am 23 weeks pregnant and I have been considering getting the h1n1 vaccine and have been researching as much as I can. My physician recommends it, as well as the nurse practitioner at the local health department. However after calling my pharmacist who is 2 weeks further along in her pregnancy than mine, I am leaning more towards not getting the vaccine. She said that she knows that the vaccine was safely made, and used the same procedure as the regular flu vaccine, however the protein that is used has not been tested and therefore there is no proof that the h1n1 vaccine will be safe or not safe. She also said that she will be getting the regular flu vaccine as there has been 20 years worth of research regarding pregnancy and interactions. I'm still considering, anyone who can offer further input regarding the protein or other research, please share.

  - Holly

• November 2, 2009 6:59 a.m.

  in Ireland they are giving the H1N1 vaccine to pregnant woman, but not before 14 weeks.

  - carol

• November 1, 2009 4:16 p.m.

  Concerning the SYAD. This is exactly the reason why we as a community seem to be 'sheeple' that just accept whatever big companies put in front of us. To look at that SYAD in that manner allows them to do so. If we would reject these products that they have no faith in and feel it necessary to do no testing to prove its safety, and we just inject these unknowns into our body and our unborn's and children...how stupid the majority is. How very very stupid. My opinion. We as a community should insist (every single one of us) that tests be done and safety be proven before injections are made. I have been reading a lot of documents out there that state - if you happen to have a miscarriage or your baby is born with defects after getting the injection, don't blame it on the vaccination as it would have happened anyway. To me this is ludicrous! Just do your research people....

  - Jill

• October 31, 2009 2:37 p.m.

  Re: Jill's comments about package labelling. SYAD is a well-known syndrome....."Save Your A.. Documentation", designed to prevent costly law suits when things go wrong with meds., vaccines, etc. If you read any package inserts you will see this same caution. This has been almost a given since the tragedy of Thalidomide in the late 50s, early 60s. People need to weigh the benefits against the risks, and, in this case I feel the benefits of receiving the vaccine far out-strip the possible risks. There are NO guarantees in life and we must all make educated decisions, but we must also understand what we are basing those decisions on.

  - Jan

• October 31, 2009 1:45 a.m.

  I am 26 weeks pregnant and have had the same concerns about the vaccination as everyone else. I received the H1N1 vaccination on my OB's advisement. I felt relieved after I got it - I actually felt my entire body relax after I got it, I didn't realize I had been that stressed out over the vaccine and the virus. My husband and 3 1/2 year old received it as well. I also read that Thimerosal is used in products such as contact lens solution. We feel lucky we were able to get the vaccination once we wanted to. It really hit me that the only way to avoid getting H1N1 is to get the vaccination and as a pregnant woman, I don't want my husband to be faced with the question about whether to save my life or our unborn baby's life as I've read about the families of other women stricken with H1N1 have been faced with. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) website is a good source of information for the H1N1 vaccination. Of course you can take your chances and opt not to get vaccinated. I think the virus is contracted easily and you don't know how it will affect you specifically. After researching the daylights out of this, I finally realized I needed to get the vaccination. I went from a person saying no to it to a person who said yes and I'm glad I did.

  - Ann

• October 30, 2009 11:40 p.m.

  Why hasn't anyone in the mainstream medical community advised anyone about supplementation recommendations using Vitamin D and C inclusive with hand washing and getting enough sleep to prevent contracting H1N1? The RDA amount of Vitamin D is not sufficient to maintain adequate levels during the winter months of Nov - Apr (The flu and cold season). Is it any wonder why you never hear about flu and colds during the spring / summer months? Perhaps instead of focusing on just vaccinations we should be focusing on this as the core issue for overall health and wellness.

  - Robert

• October 30, 2009 7:25 p.m.

  Amy- Never once in my comments did I not recommend getting the shot. All I stated was to READ THE PACKAGE INSERT from the manufacturer before making the decision. The package inserts are the facts directly from the company that make the vaccines about testing that was done, or not done. The package inserts can be found on-line in .pdf format and I provided the link to them. What the package inserts indicate is that no testing has been done to indicate that it's safe for pregnant women or the baby. If after knowing this and reading it on the actual insert, one is still comfortable with getting a vaccine that may put the mother and unborn fetus at risk of unknown affects of any kind...then by all means, go out and get the shot. I don’t recommend either way. I am just trying to get people to read the facts which can be found on the package inserts which usually get ignored. I just know that I myself would never get this knowing that the manufacturer has stated there has been no proof of safety. If you get this vaccine and something were to happen, the manufacturer of that vaccine will be completely relinquished of any responsibility since one agreed to get it KNOWING that no testing was done to proof it was safe. I don;t know how to say it any clearer than that.

  - Jill

• October 30, 2009 4:15 p.m.

  In reference to the last comment. I would like to know what Jill's qualifications in making her recommentation other than having read something she found online. I agree what was written written in that if you want information on the safty of H1N1 for pregnant women check out the information from the CDC. Their main concern is to prevent the spread in a healthy way, they are not a pharmaceutical compnay out to make money. Also for those concerned about the 'mercury' used in the shot it is deactivated and is used as a preserving agent for the shot. In the end it is up to you to decide if the risks of getting a flu shot.

  - Amy

• October 30, 2009 11:29 a.m.

  I am 37 weeks pregnant. It was a relief for me to get vaccinated. I'm not going to worry about it any further. My baby and I are now protected from H1N1, that's what matters. Pregnant women are dying from H1N1 and losing their babies. This to me is the real risk. All this talk about thimersol etc. is hypothetical when compared to what's happening out there to women who do not receive the vaccine.

  - anne

• October 29, 2009 10:19 p.m.

  The two most common objections to the H1N1 vaccine that I've heard are that vaccines can contain mercury, and that this vaccine hasn't been tested on pregnant women. There can be mercury in a vaccine, and if someone is worried about it, skip eating one fish and you'll probably come out ahead. (Remember this, too, when industry whines about the cost of preventing and cleaning up mercury pollution.) As for testing the H1N1 vaccine in pregnant women, who's going to volunteer for that clinical trial? Clearly some of the people who've written don't want to be vaccinated, so they won't volunteer; I want the vaccine and will take it as soon as I can find one, so I wouldn't volunteer for a study that might only give me a placebo - so who's left to enroll? If you're pregnant and on the fence about the H1N1 vaccine, check out the recent articles on the New York Times. This is one scary virus for us.

  - Dana

• October 29, 2009 10:21 a.m.

  The seasonal flu insert say the exact same thing, and I feel comfortable getting that one. I don't know what to think about the H1N1 vaccine. I am 6 weeks pregnant and definately worried.

  - Tanya

• October 28, 2009 7:11 p.m.

  Arthur, that is a really interesting question. My husband is allergic to eggs and I am 26 weeks pregnant. Could the flu vaccine cause a harmful reaction with the baby? I had a seasonal flu shot last fall (my first flu shot ever) when I was just a few weeks pregnant and got I sick the following week. Then I miscarried at 8 weeks. I know there there are a lot of reasons why women miscarry, but I have such a negative association now with the vaccine, that I really don't want to get the H1N1 or seasonal flu vaccines. I really feel torn because all the medical professionals are recommending it.

  - Sarah

• October 28, 2009 4:59 p.m.

  If a father is allergic to a substance in the vaccine, will this affect an embryo if the mother is vaccinated?

  - Arthur

• October 28, 2009 11:20 a.m.

  The manufacturer package inserts for all of the vaccines can be found online. Below is a link to them all. Do a search for the word pregnancy. http://www.immunize.org/packageinserts/pi_h1n1.asp Here's an excerpt from one of them. They all basically say the same thing: Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine or FLUVIRIN. It is also not known whether Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine or FLUVIRIN can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed. This is why I completely don’t understand why it's being recommended for pregnant women. If I was pregnanct there is no way I would get this.

  - Jill

• October 28, 2009 11:00 a.m.

  my daughter has just gone through invitro for the second time and I'm glad to say is successful. it is very early(5 wks) and she is due for her first ultrasoundthis week. The queswtion I have is: Is is safe for her to get the HINI vacine while her baby is in such an early developing stage. Very concerned about this!

  - carol

• October 28, 2009 7:02 a.m.

  Unfortunately, most of us here, in Canada, go to big clinics and stand in line to receive the vaccine. We do not get a chance to read any labels. Although there are websites with info and health numbers that one can call, I still am not convinced that this vaccine is safe. Also, the vaccine here in Canada, contains "mercury." Is it true that other countries are using "mercury free" vaccines? I am hoping that most of the information that I am receiving is not correct. Tomorrow I get the vaccine shot, which I am totally stressed out about, and that is because I work with small children and I do not want to make them sick. This is really stressing me out.

  - Anne