This article appeared on the Orlando Sentinel. Read more here.
Expecting a baby brings lots of love, excitement, and more than a few challenges to a family. Pregnancy tends to make ordinary household routines a bit more complex and stressful than normal. Adding in a case or two of “family flu” — which at the very least can involve lost time from work, child-care issues, and simply feeling miserable — can make everything far more difficult. That’s why, between October and April, one of the most important things for expectant dads is to protect their loved ones from flu.
Even a mild case can cause problems for both the expectant mom and baby. Pregnancy reduces immune system function and puts stress on heart and lungs. It can also make other underlying medical conditions worse. This makes a pregnant mom much more susceptible to difficult, and potentially dangerous, flu complications including severe infections, hospitalizations, and death. Even mild flu while pregnant can cause premature labor or birth, increase risk of life-threatening illness, low birth weight or immaturity of the baby’s lungs and heart. Unfortunately, pregnant women and certain ethnic and minority populations are more likely to be hospitalized with flu. Data from past flu seasons show that compared to white adults, flu hospitalization rates are nearly 80% higher for Blacks, 30% higher for American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), and 20% higher for Hispanics. Yet flu vaccination rates in these same communities are often 40-60% lower than general vaccination rates.
There are reasons it’s important to get the flu shot every year. A vaccine’s ability to protect from severe infections decreases over time. And, because the strains of influenza viruses change every year, the vaccines are tailored to combat the current expected strains. Also, contrary to what some believe, COVID vaccines do not provide protection against flu.
According to the Florida flu tracker, the flu positivity rate and trips to the emergency room because of flu, have been increasing weekly. And the CDC’s tracker has Florida squarely at the “high” level.
Immunizing the whole family, including dad, siblings, and extended family, is one of the most important ways you can shield against serious infection. In addition to protecting the person who gets vaccinated, the vaccine also reduces the likelihood that he or she will spread the illness to others. In fact, it’s been shown that the increased immune response and protection against the flu that the expectant mom enjoys after being vaccinated is passed on to her unborn child during the pregnancy and for the first six months after birth. This is important, as your newborn’s immature immune system is very vulnerable to infection in the first few months of life.
Over the past 50 years, flu vaccines have proven to be highly safe and effective, with the most common negative reaction being mild, localized discomfort.
While each family must make their own decisions about medical matters, it’s important they are based on solid information from reputable sources. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), all strongly endorse maternal flu vaccination.
Healthy Men Inc. (HMI) agrees with these recommendations. HMI experts, many of whom are also dads, believe that everyone in your household along with anyone who may have frequent contact with members of the household, such as grandparents and relatives over six months of age will benefit from the flu vaccine. We encourage all expectant dads to talk with their health-care provider, their extended family members, and their partner about flu and other health issues and attend as many OB visits as possible.