Is the Thimerosal-free vaccine safe for pregnant woman?

Hopefully you can get a full ingredient list from your doctor, then research on pregnancy specific websites.

yeah I tried that. I’m trying to research online as well, just thought someone here might have an idea?

Yes, it is strongly recommended that you get the flu shot when pregnant. Getting the flu while pregnant would be dangerous to you and the baby.

Here’s what confuses me. Thimerosal is being removed from childrens’ vaccine because of the controvery surrounding the preservative and autism. Yet, the CDC and the FDA say it is safe for pregnant women.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/thimerosal.htm

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228

Yeah @bkcunningham finally they are saying it’s been linked to autism they have been denying this for years.
The Flu whilst is not much fun @Mariah doesn’t mean you’re harming your baby.
This is the issue I have right now, I“m sick of hearing about all the bad things that can happen during pregnancy – how about giving pregnant woman some love and telling them all the beautiful things that can happen – besides by getting sick you’re giving your baby vital antibodies rather than chemical cocktails so young.
I’m pregnant I’m not sick.
And getting the flu doesn’t mean I“m harming my baby – sure if i don’t look after myself definitely but what did people do before the flu vaccine – go into crazy panic! Nope…. the body is an amazing machine – my question is – does the benefit outway the risk and none can tell me for sure.

I actually just want to find out what is the Thimerosal free vaccine… surely there must be a site somewhere that tells you?

@tan235 Do you have Bing? I found a couple of sites there referring to the Thimersol free vacines.

Short answer, yes, it is generally safe for pregnant women. Deciding to get it is completely up to you. There are two reasons doctors suggest getting the flu shot for pregnant women. The first is because getting the flu while pregnant can be dangerous. During pregnancy, your immune system is decreased (meaning you don’t fight off illnesses as easily as before). The flu is a respiratory illness. During the second and third trimester, the developing baby puts pressure on your lungs and you can have shortness of breath from that alone, add to that a respiratory illness, and you may not get in enough oxygen to provide to yourself and your growing baby (so you can actually harm your baby if you get the flu). Also, having a high fever with the flu could be dangerous to the baby as well. There is no definite, if you have the flu you will hurt your baby, but it is possible to get the flu and hurt your baby. Also, for pregnant women with decreased immune systems, they are more likely to be affected by other illnesses associated with the flu, such as pneumonia. Secondly, the antibodies you build up in response to the flu shot will be shared with your baby. So, if your baby will be born during the flu season, this means you will provide some protection to your unborn baby as well. Here is an article from the March of Dimes that discusses flu and pregnancy. Here is another article about flu and pregnancy.

Here is some information about thimerosal and preservatives from the CDC.

There are several manufacturers of the seasonal flu shot, it would be best if you could ask your doctor to see the package insert to get more information. If they cannot let you see the package insert, here is a site that has the package inserts for the different manufacturers. I don’t think the actual full list of ingredients is in the package inserts either though. The most common manufacturers that I’ve seen used so far are GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Pasteur, and Novartis.

@bkcunningham What’s really confusing about it? Thimerosal has not been proven to cause Autism, but people use it as a major reason not to vaccinate their children. By having vaccine manufacturers remove the thimerosal, they are hoping to remove that reason so that people will continue to vaccinate their children.

@tan235 Short answer: The thimerosal free vaccine contains the same ingredients as the one with thimerosal, it’s just packaged as single use only and does not need the thimerosal. Generally speaking from what I remember of flu shots in the past, they are usually egg based and contain a gelatin (so people with egg allergies should not get the shot or nasal spray). There is also the inactivated flu viruses (meaning dead flu virus) and some other ingredients. I’m not sure what the other ingredients are off the top of my head. If I can find an ingredient list, I’ll post it.

The FDA and CDC are catering to people’s fears by removing thimerosal? It just seems confusing to me that if it is safe and has been used for decades; those facts presented with other dats would be enough to keep it in vaccines. I’m not a medical professional. I’m just speaking as a lay person. Not that it matters in the discussion, but I’ve never gotten a flue shot.

@bkcunningham Probably because loads of people are not getting vaccines because they’re afraid of them no matter how many studies reiterate that they’re safe. It’s dangerous to have large parts of the population unvaccinated, so like you said, they’re probably catering to people’s fears, hoping to change this dangerous trend.

@tan235 “The Flu whilst is not much fun doesn’t mean you’re harming your baby.” Yes, having the flu can harm the baby, but @Seaofclouds already summed that up.

ok lets get one thing straight, having the flu ‘might’ harm your baby – but for the majority of pregnancies it does not.

What I don’t like is as @bkcunningham put it – ‘catering to peoples fear’.
I read a lot in regards to both sides of the flu vaccine in regards to pregnant woman, and i’ve researched it a lot and obviously still am.
I am trying to do what is best for myself and my child – and I’m not sure the vaccine is it.
full stop.
why put all those chemicals in your body?
The flu may cause adverse affects, but the probability of that is very slim – and that’s come from research.

Ill make this short to avoid one of my rare but fun rants.

1) Vaccines do not cause autism. Period. That was a hoax
2) Flu kills people
3) Pregnant women are especially vulnerable.

The fact that the flu vaccine seems to have quite a lot of adverse affects in pregnancy is my main reason for NOT wanting it.
But as I said, I’m researching to make sure I do what is best.
But I hate the way over here they use fear – the human body is amazing, we don’t know that these woman who were adversely affected by the flu wouldn’t have been regardless and we also don’t know if the pregnant that were affected also had the flu injection as it’s not 100% affective. And now – even worse it’s combined with H1N1 which from what I’ve been reading is quite a full on vaccine… see I“m just confused. And my doctors all tell me different things.
When did we lose faith in our own abilities?

The only common adverse affect in pregnancy is a sore arm for a day.

@rarebear where on earth did you read that?

@Rarebear is a doctor.

well not one I’d go to – no offense…. I’m sure you’re a great doctor.

I am the medical director of a critical care unit in an urban city hospital, and also the medical director of the infection control department. I know far more about this than you do.

@tan235 If you already feel that strongly about it, why question it. Go with what feels right for you and your baby. If you feel the “chemicals” aren’t worth the risk, nothing else is going to change your mind. There are chemicals in the flu vaccine (and all other vaccines). I doubt seeing a list of the chemicals is going to make you change your mind about them.

I’m sorry you feel that we are all uneducated, but I can assure you, I am not uneducated. Disagreeing with your feelings about vaccinations and the flu does not make me (or anyone else) uneducated. I’m a nurse and a mother. I’ve been pregnant twice and received my flu shot both times (and get it every year because I work with very sick elderly people). I also received the H1N1 vaccine when it first came out and now I get it as part of the seasonal flu shot. I have not had any adverse reactions to the flu shots (pregnant or not pregnant).

@tan235 Rarebear is a doctor.

Why did you ask on a predominately American-user-based site, then, @tan235 ? I honestly don’t know, but aren’t there Q&A sites based in NZ where they will be more in tune with your POV? Perhaps you could find an ex-pat Kiwi OB-GYN who will be more in tune with your philosophy, instead of being rather derogatory about the people here who are only trying to help you.

You do @rarebear that i agree with, I just see your views as being perhaps biased.
I have no idea how you can say the worst side effect is a sore arm? That’s ridiculous.
What you do is invaluable and incredible, I for one just don’t believe in a one sided view with something as potentially damaging as chemicals entering a body that is still not developed.

I do believe in the power of the human body being able to heal itself – I’ve never had the vaccine and I’ve never been overly sick – just want to do what is right for my body and my baby and I can’t quite understand how the flu shot is.

Ok… this isn’t working….. thanks for your answers though guys… it still does help but the opinions on here are not to my POV you’re right but that’s not what i was wanting.
In new zealand they jsut don’t push it they tell you to look after yourself, wash your hands, eat well, all the good things that I did think were important – and you’re right, in america they tend to just push vaccines and drugs, I“m not going to lie…. the health care system over here scares me a little bit.

Thanks though for your answers, I do appreciate them of course.

@tan235 I think you are misunderstanding what @Rarebear was saying. He said “only common adverse affect” not the worst side effect. There are rare side effects that a much worse than a sore arm, but they are very rare. The sore arm one is very common because of the location of the injection.

I hope you can find what you are looking for. It sounds like you are looking for others to agree that the vaccine isn’t worth it, so maybe you should check out some of the anti-vaccination groups. Good luck!

You keep saying how the body is amazing and can heal itself and that’s all true and good of course, but you realize that death rates have gone way down since vaccines have been implemented? Isn’t that proof in itself that the benefits outweigh the risks?

If you’ll only listen to people who agree with you, why ask for other opinions at all?

@tan235 : You are living in a city that has approximately twice the population of your entire country. The crowding alone ensures that the transmission of disease is much more probable in NYC than in, say, Auckland. The concerns of American doctors are based on many more factors than simply pushing some kind of drug agenda. Just because we speak a similar language does not mean that all the circumstances will be identical, and that all solutions and/or attitudes should match.

I think it is smart to seek out information like @tan235 is doing. She’s looking for a discussion while she is pregnant and seems to be doing everything she can to protect herself and her child. I get it. She isn’t familiar with the vaccine and most likely has read up on it herself and come across all sorts of information. Also, hormones may be making the discussion a bit more emotional for her than it is for others who see only facts without the emotional and confused person asking the questions.

Which is why, @bkcunningham , we all tried to give her the best advice we could, including pointing out options and explaining various circumstances to her.

Oh, I know, @JilltheTooth. The discussion has been informative and educational for me.

@tan235 It sounds like you feel pressured into getting the vaccine. I’m sorry that the US health care system is scary to you.

While doing your research, please consider the date that the research was performed. When swine flu (H1N1) hit the US, statistical analysis showed that pregnant women were more likely to get sick and die from the flu, although the overall numbers are quite low. I would encourage you to look (exclusively) at research/literature that has been published since the H1N1 outbreak in 2009.

I work in a neonatal intensive care unit and have seen babies born to mothers on ventilators due to the flu… and the mothers couldn’t see or hold their babies for days due to their severe illness and transmission risk. Both the baby and mom had to be in isolated rooms to prevent spread to others in the hospital. Based on my experience and understanding of the literature, I opted to receive a flu vaccine during pregnancy.

I am well aware that any intervention (including vaccines) carry risk. I am also aware that the overall risk of acquiring the flu is low (although as @JilltheTooth pointed out, living in a highly concentrated population such as NYC would put you at higher risk). But I have personally almost died from a complication from birth control pills for which I had no other risk factors and is extremely rare.

Parenting decisions are extremely difficult and important to make. Good luck!

You’ll get advice from both sides on what you should do, so just do what you think is best for yourself.

Just to throw something else out there- I did not get a flu shot whilst pregnant with either of my children and I did not get the flu. One of my best girlfriends got a flu shot while she was pregnant, and she got the flu…

Sorry everyone, I just want to apologise for getting over emotional in regards to this.
yes i deleted my account as I was feeling so bad – in hindsight slightly stupid but humorous.
I am only wanting to do what is right by my baby and I do find these vaccines to be both necessary – of course there are somethings I will vaccine my baby against, as I do understand how vaccines have helped and stopped deaths, and disease from spreading but then there are others where i just can’t seem to find the balance between benefit out weighing the risk.
I’m sorry if I offended anyone, not my intention – truly honestly.
I do think you’re all truly wonderful people for taking the time to reply to my question.
I“m feisty, always have been, I’d fight even though I knew I’d lose, but I totally appreciate all your answers and believe it or not they are all helping me figure this out.
ps : I don’t think badly of your health care system really – there is just so much more information on both sides that I get overwhelmed and run with crazy excuses…. so my apolgoies everyone.

@tan253 it comes down to this: There is a very, very slight chance the vaccine will have a significant negative side effect on you/your baby. There is a much greater chance that without getting the vaccine, you could get the flu (especially in NYC) which has the potential for serious damage. There are very smart doctors who study the odds of these risks (probably at the CDC, and NIH etc) and they come up with guidelines and standards of care which give you and your baby the best odds possible for a safe, happy and healthy pregnancy/delivery. I fully trust these MD’s because I don’t believe they can dedicate their entire lives to learning how to help sick people, only to turn around and violate their hippocratic oath by passing out advice they know will lead to more woman and unborn children being harmed. It’s like believing the top veterinarians could be running an underground for-profit dog-fighting club.

There are never any guarantees, but you can take steps that reduce risk, and getting vaccinated seems to be one of those things. Best wishes for you and your baby-to-be.

I didn’t say the “worst” side effect was a sore arm. I said the “common” adverse reaction was a sore arm. I oversaw the administration of hundreds hospital employees for the flu vaccine, several of whom were pregnant, and we had no adverse reactions. I have also taken care of young women in my ICU who nearly died of the flu because she did not get vaccinated.

Look your mind’s made up. I won’t confuse you with the facts. You obviously were looking for validation for your point of view by this question, and you didn’t get it. I actually could give a rats ass whether or not you get the flu vaccine, especially since you live in a different country and you can’t infect my child (who has gotten her flu vaccine). What I care about is the lies and misinformation that people like you spread.

Saying vaccines cause autism is like saying Obama is a Muslim, that Bush blew up the World Trade Center or that Gingrich is a lying adulterer (no wait, that last one is true). It’s a lie based upon a hoax, and if you want to talk about “spreading fear” the anti vaccine advocates are the ones really spreading fear.

The anti-vax websites are much more exciting to read, though. Much like a Stephen King novel. Maybe he should write something exciting for the established medical sites. Their factual information is so dull and incomprehensible.