....that is the question of the day. Among other things my paranoid hypochondriac neuroses will definitely not be beneficial if i'm ever able to get pregnant. But what really really *really* doesn't help is when it's a scary reality and not just in my head. Today at work i found out that this whole swine flu thing has NOT declined like i had thought. In fact there are so many cases diagnosed by the doctors across the street that the CDC has told them to stop sending specimens to be tested because they just don't have the ability to do so anymore. Someone I work with just found out they have swine flu, and to make matters worse i came home from work to read this headline:
Pregnancy Ups Swine Flu Death Risk
It basically says that you're more at risk for death and complications if you're pregnant and get the swine flu. So now they're full-speed ahead with making swine flu vaccines, and pregnant women are at the top of the list to get it because there won't be nearly enough doses for everybody. There's only one little itty-bitty catch. It's a completely new vaccine that's never been tested before. Not only has it never been tested before, but they're adding an adjuvant that's also never been made before and doesn't have FDA approval. So the government is going to get an "emergency declaration" to use it. (Adjuvant Info Here) AND when there was a swine flu scare in the 70s they did a rush-vaccine then too....and it caused all kinds of awful problems.
But wait...i'm not done! British and Swiss health officials have even suggested delaying getting pregnant until the swine flu threat passes. This is way bigger than i was even remotely anticipating. And normally I wouldn't be overly concerned (oh who am i kidding, Worry is my middle name) but there is that one little fact...i work smack dab in the middle of it all. These sick people are going to be coming to me for medicine and vaccinations....and their germs will be right there with them. If it's as bad as the news is reporting what are the chances that i *won't* get it?
As i see it i have three options:
1) Seriously consider delaying getting pregnant for a yearish
2) Hopefully get pregnant right as flu season hits and get a vaccine that has never been tested and therefore allow myself and baby to be guinea pigs
3) Hopefully get pregnant right as flu season hits, do nothing, and hope i don't die
[end panic attack][temporarily]
What would you do?
30th Birthday Biggest Lessons
3 years ago
normally i naively dont worry about any of that kinda stuff and would say just get pregnant, but since you work around sick people all the time, there probably is a really good chance of catching it. and now that i know its that common and that youre gonna get it, im not hanging out with you anymore unless you stay in a bubble.
ReplyDeleteif you delayed getting pregnant for a year, do you think that will have solved anything? i mean hasnt it already been out for like a year now anyway? however by then they would know for the most part the results of the flu shot (except long term effects)
the people dying from it...is it still people with substandard healthcare? i was under the impression it was just a bad flu for most people unless you were unhealthy to begin with or something. what about any effects on the baby if you get it while pregnant?
if you wait a year we can be pregnant together. i guess it depends on how worried you are about it vs how desperately you want to be pregnant and have a baby.
It's more dangerous for pregnant women because 1) decreased lung capacity makes it more likely to become pneumonia or respiratory failure and 2) pregnant women have a weaker immune system and therefore can't fight it like normal. I guess the waiting thing is that "flu season" is typically November-March and that is when they're expecting it to be really bad. Yeah it'll still be around after that but hopefully just mildly like it is now. And no substandard healthcare isn't a factor in the US deaths (hospitals have to treat you no matter what). Not going to the doctor quickly enough may have been, though. But then when i think about possibly waiting until flu season is over...it'll probably be the same situation next year. I doubt the swine flu will just disappear all of a sudden. I hope this ends up being like the whole Bird Flu scare. That year work sent us masks and gloves and all kinds of stuff....and nothing ever happened.
ReplyDeleteok so then maybe wait until around dec/jan to try to get pregnant (half a year and not a whole year) so that youre only in your first trimester while flu season hits before you have lung issues, etc. i think you should maybe try to avoid the peak period, but not worry about it off-season
ReplyDeleteI will not be getting a swine flu vaccine. More people get the regular flu and die from it than the swine flu, so I'm not particularly worried. I see the ob/gyn regularly, so I can always ask them about any weird symptoms I'm having.
ReplyDeleteI AM going to be very careful to wash my hands more while I'm teaching and ask my students to use hand sanitizer. I think you should do whatever you think is best, but personally I would not put my family plans on hold due to fear of an infection you most likely will not get, or will not even realize you had before you get better.
That's my two cents! Oh, and thanks for trying to freak us pregnant people out! ;)
PS. Ally - you're planning on another in a year?? Brave girl!!
Sorry about that Jenny! Saying that i over-worry about stuff is putting it lightly. I'm over my freak-out now. And you definitely shouldn't get the vaccine...Abby will be here before the flu season gets going good. Yay! I can't wait!!
ReplyDelete