Pregnant women more likely to get dangerous H1N1 swineflu

Pregnant women exposed to swine flu are advised to immediately consult medical practitioners

Pregnant women are more likely to get serious complications from swine flu or H1N1 infection.

Pregnant women at a greater risk for serious developing severe respiratory infections from H1N1 virus or swine flu which they often find hard to recover.

The hospitalization rate for pregnant H1N1 patients is more than four times that of the general population, a study last month in the medical journal Lancet found.

About 6% of the deaths in the United States from H1N1 virus have been pregnant women. Some of these women have had other chronic conditions, though pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester is known to make it harder to recover from respiratory infections.

Pregnant women may be more vulnerable to swine flu because of the failure of the immune system to figh the infection, according to Australian doctors said.

Six out of seven of the women lacked a cell known as immunoglobulin G subclass 2, or IgG2, said a study from doctors in Melbourne who analyzed blood tests to determine why pregnant women made up a majority of their critically ill H1N1 patients. The antibody deficiency was also noted in seriously ill non-pregnant patients.

The results, reported at a medical meeting in San Francisco, showed six out of seven of the women lacked a cell known as immunoglobulin G subclass 2, or IgG2. The antibody deficiency was also noted in seriously ill non-pregnant patients.

Researchers are now looking for to confirm the association with the virus and determine whether it can help identify patients at risk of pneumonia and other complications.

Blood tests on 16 healthy pregnant women used in the study for comparison found more than half were “mildly deficient” in an immunoglobulin G subclass. The lowest IgG2 levels were recorded in the severely ill pregnant swine flu patients.

What should pregnant women do in case of swine flu infection?

Pregnant women who have been exposed to the H1N1 virus, should contact thier doctor for futher advice, medical professionals say. Signs of influenza like illness include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue and sometimes, diarrhea and vomiting.

The main risks are preterm labor from dehydration and other serious complications.

Antiviral drugs, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza), are safe to take in pregnancy or breastfeeding.

It is recommended that pregnant women understand that it is a pregnancy class C medication. This means “there are either no adequate studies, either animal or human, or there are adverse fetal effects in animal studies but no available human data.”

The flu vaccine is recommended in pregnancy but does not protect against the swine flu.

Breast feeding best for swine flu inection in new borns

Flu vaccinations have not been recommended for babies under six months with the regular seasonal flu vaccines. Immunities that the baby has are passed directly through the mother. The CDC says: “Flu can be very serious in young babies. Babies who are breastfed do not get as sick and are sick less often from the flu, than do babies who are not breastfed.”

Breast milk is the best treatment for your baby in a preventative way. The CDC recommends as much breast milk as possible. Breastfeeding also has a role protecting women’s body.

One of the best ways to encourage early and often breastfeeding is close contact between mothers and babies. CDC recommends, “Keep infants and mothers as close together as possible and encourage early and frequent skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their infants.”

Nearly 2 billion people, or 30 percent of the world’s population, may become infected by the new pandemic H1N1 swine flu  as it spreads globally. About 25 percent to 50 percent of severe cases worldwide involve healthy young and middle-aged people. Underlying conditions that can intensify the effects of flu include respiratory illnesses, especially asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, a suppressed immune system, and pregnancy. While fewer than 0.5 percent of sufferers may need hospitalization, those who do can remain require critical care for up to three weeks, overwhelming intensive-care units, according to the WHO.