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Vaccination of pregnant women from influenza benefits the fetus
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Vaccination of pregnant women from influenza not only protects the mother from the disease, but also benefits the fetus. In vaccinated mothers, the risk of premature birth and birth of a full-term baby with a low weight is significantly reduced, their children do not rarely survive until they die or die during them.
This conclusion was reached by a group of Canadian scientists studying the statistics of births that occurred in the province of Ontario during the epidemic of H1N1 influenza in 2009-2010. Their work is published in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The subject of the study of the authors of the publication was information on the outcome of 55 570 single-birth pregnancies, entered in the demographic database of the province of Ontario from November 2009 to April 2010. 42 percent of pregnant women were vaccinated against influenza, the rest - no.
Comparing the data on births, the researchers found that for those vaccinated at 34 percent (ie, one third), the probability of a dead child's birth decreased, by 28 percent - the probability of childbirth at the term of up to 32 weeks and by 19 percent - the probability of a baby with a weight not corresponding to his gestational age.
The authors of the work also emphasize that they did not find any negative consequences of vaccination for maternal and child health in the perinatal period.
According to one of the co-authors, Dr. Ann Sprague (Ann Sprague), the results of the study were unexpected for the team members themselves. "We were surprised by the persuasiveness and certainty of the benefits that mothers and children receive from vaccination," Sprague EurekAlert! Quotes. At the same time, the authors of the work indicate that research in this area should be continued.