Influenza vaccination in pregnancy
Influenza in Australia
Influenza, commonly known as “the flu” can be a serious, life-threatening infection which is most common in the winter months. Despite we Aussies calling everything the flu, influenza is NOT the same as a cold and is so much worse than a headache, hangover or the tummy upset from dodgy leftovers. Every year, among the thousands of Australians who die from influenza, we have mums-to-be who end up hospitalised, in intensive care and dying.
Quick facts:
The peak influenza season in Australia is August-September, but there are cases of influenza all year round
Some years are worse than others. 2017 and 2019 were very bad flu years for Australia, 2018 was a mild year and 2020 and 2021 saw very little flu due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Remarkably, there were no confirmed deaths due to influenza in Australia in 2021
The flu changes (mutates) regularly, which makes it a difficult target to hit from an immunisation point of view and this is why we change the vaccine most years
Between 1 500 and 3 500 Australians are believed to die every year from the flu. This compares with the average number of deaths from the road toll since 2013, which is around 1 200
Influenza vaccination in pregnancy:
Is recommended for every woman in every pregnancy regardless of the time of year, although vaccines can be hard to come by between October and March
Is safe
Is effective
Protects mum
By protecting mum, protects her unborn baby (if we can keep mum healthy, out of hospital and especially out of intensive care, baby will do much better)
Gives baby antibodies which are transmitted through the placenta, giving them a fighting start should they meet influenza after they are born
Babies under the age of 6 months don’t respond well to the influenza vaccine and immunising mum provides protection in this vulnerable group, reducing the incidence of influenza in their babies by about 50%
Gives baby antibodies through breastmilk which increases their protection further
Influenza vaccine facts:
Is not a live vaccine
Can not give you the flu
Can sting and you may get a sore arm, headache and muscle aches and pains for a couple of days
Is not always effective — if the flu changes even a little bit, the antibodies you have from the vaccine may not protect you from the new flu
Is available during pregnancy for free from your GP, although there may be a fee to see your GP. Supplies of the vaccine may become limited between October and March
Good information about vaccines during pregnancy and for babies is available on the MumBubVax site
