What Do You Do in This Situation?

We all get the Flu shot, always have.
The other reason is, I have Asthma... and any colds/flu/secondary lung infections can even be deadly or critical for me.

I have already gotten my season Flu vaccine. The preservative free version.
I have had no side effects, at all. Not even a sore arm.

Both my kids will be getting it. The nasal spray version. They have gotten it before, with NO side effects.

When pregnant, the immune system of a woman... is not optimum. The immune system is not as strong.

Just be aware that this years "flu shot" contains two strains of flu and also the H1N1 strain from 2009. Some Doctors offices don't tell you that part of it. I have always gotten my children their flu shots, they were in home daycare and I was concerned about the babies there, but after my son had such a severe reaction this year that won't happen again.
Tks T.

I got h1n1 and regular one last year when prego. my 7 yo son gets one every year and we will all get one this year to keep from infecting my daughter who can't have one till she is six mos...and yes I am going to give her one too. I can't afford to miss work and school for the flu...not to mention ppl die from it. and nothing has convinced me that the vaccine is even dangerous.

Okay, first of all, in response to Lisa K.'s post, someone posted that link yesterday or the day before as a question and it was removed from the site. It is a link to a garbage "study" that proves nothing and is far from scientific in its method. There is NO SCIENTIFIC evidence that the flu shot casues or contributes to miscarriages, and I'm sorry that people are distributing this information as though it were fact. Your decision to get or not get a flu shot for you and your family should be made based on the best information available. Websites like the one in the link use scare tactics and outright lies that they wrap up with a lot of jargon and statistics and hope we won't notice.
Please educate yourself from respected scientific organizations, not agenda-pushing organizations out to terrify you.
For the record, I'm also pregnant, due in March and I have already gotten a flu shot. My 3 year old son and my husband will get them as well. I don't believe they are dangerous, so for me it's a no brainer, get the shot, hopefully avoid the flu.
Good luck with your decision.

I had my second last Oct. We ALL got the flu shot. I had it with both pregnancies. I'm a SAHM and my husband works outside the house as well. My older plays with other kids and at different locations. As it was, my baby got sick more often than my first only because of the great number of germs HE brought home from his contact with other kids. The flu can be very dangerous, especially to infants. Get the shots. Protect your youngest as well as all of you. Congrats on your baby!

Yes, yes, yes! Get everyone the flu shot! It is especially important for pregnant women to get it. I am pregnant with my second and got the flu shot both times. I am also a SAHM, but even going to the park or grocery store, you are exposed to people all the time. (Don't get me started on grocery store cart handles!)

Newborns cannot protect themselves from the flu because they are too young to get immunized so it's important that everyone around them gets immunized. My daughter got the flu shot the year she was old enough (I think starting at 6 months). She got both the normal flu shot and H1N1 last year.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm insisting that everyone who will be visiting around the time of birth (grandparents, uncles, etc) also get the flu shot. I don't want to take chances.

Also, look into you and your husband getting the TDaP - the tetanus booster that covers whooping cough if neither of you have had the booster before. This year there is a big outbreak across the country and babies under 6 months are at high risk (again, because they haven't been immunized yet). You won't be able to get it until after you deliver, but it was the first thing I asked for after my daughter was born. Many community health groups are offering them at a free or discounted rate this year because there have been so many cases.

The risks here are pretty high. You are the greatest risk because you are pg. I only got the flu shot when I was pg (and once ended up with the flu when I was 5 mos. pg and won't do THAT again). When your baby comes in January, she will be very susceptible to viruses, so risk of exposure should be minimized. Your hubby should also get it, as should the 15 month old. Last year when my DD was only 6 mos, I got her the H1N1 shot because the risks were so severe (I had a former coworker die from H1N1 and she had been in the hospital for a week! Even under their great care, she couldn't be saved.) I say, don't let a little pain get in the way of serious health problems.

I would get the flu shot. My daughter gets one every year and so do I, even the year I was pregnant. When I was prego my work gave free flu shots and the other pregnant girl in the office's dr had told her not to get it, and mine had said to get it.

Does your son socialize with other kids? my husband always gets much more sick than me or my daughter whenever something is going around so I make him get the flu shot now also.

This is definitely a personal decision, I never got the flu or H1N1. I opted not to give it to My Daughter either. She will be 2 in November.
I work Pt and my husband Ft. I beleive in strenghtening our immune systems the old fashion way.
regular hand washing and staying away from anyone who is sick if you know ahead of time.

I would do it for all of you. I started the flu shot with my kiddo as soon as I could. My baby will be able to get it this year too so I'm getting his tomorrow...do you have the flu mist at your ped's office? It is so much easier than the shot! I'm not sure though, I actually think they have to be 2 for that, sorry! If you're pregnant I would totally get it and remember the flu is so "catchable" you can just get it from the grocery store or a friend, so take precautions!

Oh and I got mine last year while I was pregnant, it was the first time ever! Same wtih my husband, but since I was PG and we had another little one we didn't take any chances.

in your position, i'd highly recommend that you all get the flu shot. your new baby is not going to be able to get a flu shot, so he/she is depending on you to keep him/her safe and healthy. baby will have some degree of protection at birth from your flu shot(and even more if you nurse him/her). you and your son are going to be out and about, you are going to be at the pediatrician(aka germ central) frequently for well baby checks in the prime of flu season. there is always risk/benefit to just about everything, but i think the MINUTE risk of the flu shot is worth the tremendous benefit to your baby - the flu is not just a bad, miserable cold for a newborn, it can be fatal. good luck to you with your new arrival!

My flu shot experience: Never had the flu or flu shot before having kids. When my first daughter was around 8 or 9 months old she got the flu from the baby sitters kids, then I got it and then my husband got it. Two times! The pediatrician said she had to have a flu shot after that. We didn't get it again that year. The next year I was pregnant during flu season and got a flu shot upon my ob's recommendation and pediatrician's recommendation. My daughter and husband also got one. Last year all four of us got a flu shot. (My oldest daughter and I done the nasal mist) And we have not had the flu again since that first winter with our first daughter. (We have not had any side effects from the shots either.) We will all get them again this year.

I am a firm believer in vaccinations, and as a former educator, in the flu shot in particular! Unless you and your son are going to quarantine yourselves in the house all winter, you run the risk of picking up the flu (at the grocery store, the playground, out to eat, friends'/family's homes, etc.). My oldest son got his first flu shots at about 16 months (he was too young his first year--they have to be 6 months old) and my second son just got his first flu shot last week at 11 months old. I get one every year, and now so do my children. I also got one during each of my pregnancies. Be aware that usually the first time getting the flu shot, they need a second dose a month later.

Didn't read all the posts so sorry for a repeat.

If you are pregnant, you should get the flu shot, and your whole family should get vaccinated as well. A fever of 102 and up will cook that baby you're cooking. Seriously, brain development does not do well with a fever, and fevers come with the flu.

Not to mention there is a statistically proven correlation between maternal flu while pregnant and an increased likelihood of developing schizophrenia later in life. Obviously you could get the flu and your baby would turn out just fine, but given the safety and effectiveness of the flu shot, I wouldn't take the risk.

I agree with other post you need to get a flu shot and the rest of your family for that manner. Your husband can be exposed and not know it and if you and your child are out and about you could pick it up that way. Don't take any chances getting sick, remember you can not take hardly any medications when pregnant and with pregnancy you already have other discomforts so why add to it. There are no side effects to the shot unless you are alergic to eggs but will ask you that you and your family will be fine getting the shot. My girls and I get one every year. We need to because my husband refusses to get one and he is a teacher so we have to protect ourselves since he doesn't. I will have to admit my husband is kind of self-center but he is an adult so I don't push the matter with him. This year you only have to get one shot like last year you had to get 2 different ones, one for the flu and one for h1n1. I got the flu shot last year but hadn't gotten the h1n1 shot and ended up getting it, it was not fun to go through. Sorry so long just don't want to see anyone suffer with the flu.

I was pregnant last year, and we all got the flu shot and the H1N1 shot on the advice of my OB and my son's pediatrician. I did end up getting the regular flu after my shot, but they said it was a different strain than what was in the vaccine. My husband and son did not get sick. We all did get H1N1, but it was before we got the shot. The doctor suggested we get the vaccine anyway since none of us were tested to make sure it was H1N1.
In early March, just after my daughter was born, my son came home with what we thought was a cold. My 2 week old daughter spent the next 9 days at Children’s Mercy on oxygen with RSV. I don't want to imagine what could have happened if she’d gotten the flu at the same time.
Needless to say, we are ALL getting the flu shot this year. My husband has already gotten his, mine is next week at work, and my children (7 months and 3 years) are getting their shots next week at the pediatrician.

I did take the H1N1 vaccine in my second trimester of pregnancy and everything was just fine. I didn't give my son a flu shot because he had excema as a baby so he couldn't take this nasal one they had and the shots at that time did have the Thimerasol in them so I opted out. I think it would be OK if they don't have the Thimeasol, since they have assured you of that. But if you don't just take care at home to wash hands and use good sanitary practices. I had my baby last January and he never got a flu shot and didn't get the flu. In fact when he was born my son had strep and my baby did not get it, so if you are planning to breastfeed that is probably the best protection you can give your new little one. Congrats:)

I think asking questions is important as is a healthy level of skepticism. With that said, I am 37 weeks pregnant and just got my shot, had my husband go in for his, and had our 3 year old vaccinated. I got the flu last time I was pregnant (3 years ago) and it was absolutely the worst experience ever...I was so, so sick. That same year my friend who had a baby in January got it a week after the baby was born and so did her husband--I don't think the baby got sick (probably thanks to the antibodies in her breast milk)--but again, it was pure torture (the horrible cough while recovering from labor). This was the first time I had ever had the flu--so again, it's not like I "always" get it, but my husband and I both work at a university so things do go around and I decided that for us it was worth it to not worry about the flu. My son has gotten a flu shot (including H1N1) every year he was able.

Get the flu shot, the only reason people get scared is the mercury (which this doesn't have and I'm sure you will take them out at some point, church, grocery store or worse and more likely the pediatricians office (you may not be sick by 90% of the kids that are there are and their germs are everywhere). I'm making all the grandparents get it because they're all coming to stay for some amount of time in Dec/Jan with the new baby. Congrats!!

We don't do flu shots, except for our son who has asthma, and he will not be getting one this year. I was told that the new flu shots are combined with other flu shots, and I'm too leery to do that. By the way, I can't tell you the last time we have been sick, any of us. I just make my kids wash their hands A LOT and make them aware that if they touch their nose or mouth that is how they can get sick. My kids are teens too, and are at school all day and all kinds of activities, etc.

This is such a hard issue to navigate. I know last year they were out out out of vaccines in my area and then when the hype was over there was a surplus and they did what seemed like a marketing campaign to get people in and buy the surplus. I don't care to make pharmaceutical companies wealthier by allowing injections into my precious body, much less that of my children. Frankly, I pay a lot of attention to advertisement and I think pharm companies are doing a lot of harm (and a lot of good, but profit is always the motivation).

I've lived in the third world and had drugs banned on the US pushed on me, PUSHED on me by my neurologist who was under a grant from the pharma company who sold the drug (while they were in litigation over the drug for marketing it as a pain reliever, eplipsy drug, ADHD drug, Bi-Polar drug, etc. They said it was the "cure all." forget that I thought I had epilepsy and I was nursing and they could guarantee that it wouldn't get in my milk.) This doctor literally tried to force me to take the drug in his office when I refused. When you can't sell in the US, go where poor people can't sue you is how these monsters work.

So I don't trust the drug companies. Not one bit.

But, living there I also saw the crippling effects of not vaccinating segments of the population, and it's not pretty.

In my case, when my kids were at home I did not do the flu shot. We did do lots of handwashing. I've had my daughter build an incubator and culture bacteria so that she understands how important hand washing is. My children are extremely thin -- off the charts -- and I do worry if they get very ill with something that causes nausea and vomiting so now that they are in school, I probably will.

They are saying they suggest everyone get the flu shot this year.

My husband works for the Police Dept so the city is providing shots for all city workers. Later if they have enough all of the families can get theirs.. Our daughter got her up at College, I am thinking about just getting one at the Grocery store Pharmacy this week.

We always get the shots and have never had a problem with them.

My kids got flu shots I think when they were 6 months old - I think that's the earliest they can get them. We've never had any issues w/ it. My daughter was a preemie and we all got the flu shots to keep her safe. I'm a SAHM also but you never know who you will come into contact with. Not sure if you can get a flu shot while pregnant - it seems you can in the early part but not the latter - not sure though - you would need to check w/ your OBGYN.

I am 38, never had a flu shot, 3 years ago I got the flu. I figure if I am sick my body needs rest and stayed in bed for about 4 days. the rest of the family didn't get it.

My hubby got flu shots every year in the military and got the flu almost every time, sometimes the rest of us would end up getting it from him.

He doesn't get one every year now and we rarely get sick.

It is your decision whether to get the shot or not. Some people do in fact get the flu right after the shot, others don't.

It's a very personal decision but I have never had the flu shot while pg with any of my children (#3 due tomorrow)nor have any of my children had shots. I made it through two flu seasons pg and never had any issues. I ate well, took care of myself, tried to get as much sleep as I could, which was very difficut having my first 2 17 mos apart and stay away from people who are sick! The key is to keep yourself from getting worn out. Keep your immune system strong and you will be fine! Good luck and congrats on baby #2!

When I was pregnant last summer (I ended up miscarrying) I did a lot of research on the flu vaccine and h1n1 vaccine. I got pretty freaked out because I decided I did NOT want them based on all the research I did and felt that I would be pressured into it. I'm now pregnant again and don't plan on getting the vaccine, nor do I plan on ever getting a flu vaccine for myself or my child again (I have in the past followed the "recommendations" and gotten them, but no more). I will, however, make sure that I'm getting enough vitamin D. I don't go strictly by what my doctor says or what the drug companies are pushing. I say do your research and then do what feels right to you. Mercola.com has a lot of information, but try not to get all your information from one source...mamasource included :)

Tough question. Everyone seems to feel very strongly with their decision. I personally have never had a flu shot in my life. I'm 31. Neither has my husband, he is 37. My son is 3 and I've not gotten a flu shot for him either. I'm 16 weeks pregnant and do not intend to get a shot this year either. I usually get a cold every single winter and have it through the duration. Unfortunately I am getting a cold already. However, I cannot remember the last time that I had the flu. It's been several years and it was not even during "flu season." We just try to eat healthier and wash our hands more frequently during "flu season." It has worked for us so far--knock on wood! I've personally just never chosen to have extra shots. There are so many vaccinations you HAVE to get, I wasn't ever about to CHOOSE an extra one! I know many, many people that swear by them though. So, this decision is really all your own. Good luck!

We never get flu shots. We are rarely sick. My daughter hasn't been to the doctor (other than her yearly well visits) in 3 years. We are fortunate to have really good immune systems, so for us... I just don't see the need (I am currently pregnant too and won't be getting the shot). If we were a family that got sick all the time, I may have a different perspective, but I'm not going to mess with what has been working for us.

The CDC, AAP, and the March of Dimes have recommended that every pregnant woman get the flu shot.

Also, as another poster mentioned, if you've not gotten a TDaP booster within the last 10 years (I think) you should seriously consider getting it. Pertussis (whooping cough) is exceptionally dangerous for young infants. Even if you follow a typical vaccination schedule, your child won't be fully immunized until 6 months or later. Typically for adults pertussis isn't life-threatening but you could pass it to your infant child if you contract it.

No one in my family (me, hubby and 3 kids, 14, 11, 7) have EVER gotten a flu shot. I have not had the flu in over 20 years, neither has my husband. And literally, our kids have not thrown up since they were babies/toddlers! So don't stress about it, there is a reason you are feeling hesitant, go with it and do what you think is right for you and your family. Good luck!

This is a personal decision and you have to decide what's right for you, but my daughter had her first shot her first winter...about 8 mos old I think (she's 3 1/2 now). I'm home with her most of the time and my husband works full time and I have to tell you, right now I'm wishing we'd all already had the shot for this season. She had stomach flu yesterday and I now have it...not fun since I'm 32 weeks pregnant. It's definitely taking more out of me than it typically would.

I will also add, I'm a crazy hand washer, as is my daughter (who's also addicted to hand sanitizer) and husband. You can always do your best to take care of yourself and sometimes it's enough, but you never know what strains of the flu are going to affect you for whatever reason.

Good luck with your decision! Just be sure it's the right one for you and your family...no matter what others tell you.

I can't offer you any advice. However, are you sure that's what your Dr. said. There is truly no such thing as a vaccine with no preservatives. Yes, there is a Thremsol free flu-vaccine, but there are no "preservative" free vaccines.

I was told I had to have my flu shot with my last pregnancy. I have never been told that before with my previous pregnancies. Ask your OB doctor if you should get yours.