Here's how a mother's flu can affect her newborn

Jehana Antia | Updated: Jan 10, 2019, 11:29 IST
A new study states that an infant faces risks when born to women with influenza. The findings of this study have been published in the journal, Birth Defects Research. The study included 490 pregnant women with influenza, 1451 women without influenza with pregnancies in the same year, and 1446 pregnant women without influenza with prior year pregnancies.

"The message of this work is particularly timely in the midst of the current influenza season. Our study found that severely ill women with 2009 H1N1 influenza during pregnancy were more likely to have adverse birth outcomes--such as their baby being born preterm or of low birth weight--than women without influenza," said senior author Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, of the University of Florida. "These findings support the importance of pregnant women receiving the influenza vaccine and of prompt treatment with antiviral medications for pregnant women suspected of having influenza," concluded Rasmussen.

Mothers-to-be, we hope you all have given this a good read.
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