- Data from more than 11 million women who have received the flu vaccine in pregnancy show that apart from mild pain at the site of the injection, there is no evidence of an increase in the risk of congenital abnormalities or stillbirths.
- Having the vaccine does not cause a flu-like illness.
Information for pregnant mums on flu vaccine
- To protect yourself - pregnant women are far more likely to get severe flu compared to non-pregnant women. This risk is even higher if you have other risk factors such as asthma or diabetes.
- To protect your unborn child - If you catch flu in pregnancy, your child has 4 times the risk of being born early (prematurely) and 5 times the risk of being stillborn.
- To protect your baby - flu can be a serious illness in young babies. The only way to protect them is to get yourself vaccinated when you are pregnant, because they cannot be vaccinated until they are at least 6 months old.
- Women vaccinated in pregnancy halve their risk of developing flu in pregnancy.
- More importantly, they reduce the risk of having a premature baby by more than two-thirds and reduce the risk of their baby being admitted to hospital with flu.
The flu vaccine is normally available from September until around January or February each year.
Please ask your midwife for more information or book yourself into your GP practice to be vaccinated.
For more information about the flu vaccine: