Premature Birth Prevention: Pregnancy Flu Vaccine Could Reduce Risk, New Research Suggests

It is general knowledge that getting sick while pregnant can pose risks to the unborn baby. A new research from America suggests that having a flu jab could cut out 20 percent of premature births during flu outbreaks.

The findings came from more than 5,000 women who delivered their babies during the flu season where 43 percent of them were vaccinated. It was found that women who had had the influenza vaccine were less likely to have premature birth than those who were unvaccinated. Statistics showed that a 44 percent chance of premature birth was slashed, and it was concluded that as many as one in five pre-term births can be avoided when there's high influenza circulation, reports Xposé.ie.

Although the reason isn't completely known, there are several theories around why getting down with flu might mean pregnant women are more prone to having premature births. One supposition given is that the flu causes inflammation, and apparently results to premature birth.

There are different levels of premature births and babies born earlier than the 26^th week has the highest risk. Many health issues are associated with children who are born early. This could resut to babies having immature lungs, and therefore struggle to breathe properly. This can also lead to the most common chest infection bronchitis which can later on progress to pneumonia.This is the case since the child did not have longer gestation for proper development.

Evidence shows that pregnant women who get the flu have a higher risk of developing complications, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy and may result to premature birth. Other than chest infection bronchitis, some complications that may arise are middle ear infection, meningitis, septic shock and inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). Premature babies can also be more susceptible to infections, and are more likely to have jaundice, according to The Sun.

Premature babies can also have problems keeping their body at the right temperature. Problems in digestion may also arise as they won't be able to absorb all the nutrients they need yet. To better prevent premature birth, studies have shown that it's safe to have the flu jab at any stage of the pregnancy as it does not pose any risk to the mother or the baby.