October 5, 2009

This H1N1 vaccine arrives in Colorado this week. One group scheduled to get the vaccine early on, now has another reason to get it. As amazing as this might sound, if a pregnant woman gets the flu, then her baby might be facing heart disease in their future.One of the high risk groups that will be first to get the H1N1 vaccine is pregnant women. This is mainly because if they get the flu, they are also more likely to have serious problems or possibly even die from it. But according to a new study, they also one other big reason. Researchers looked back at the 1918 flu because that virus is similar to the one causing our pandemic today. What they found was startling. Both men and women born to mothers who caught the flu while pregnant during the 1918 pandemic had a greater chance of having heart disease when they were adults decades later. So even though we can't say todays flu equals the 1918 flu, the two viruses are similar enough to cause some concern. So your best bet, both for your health, and the health of your baby now, end even decades from now, is to get the vaccine once it becomes available.