HHS HealthBeat (February 18, 2010)

Flu drugs and pregnancy

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Pregnant women have a higher risk of severe complications and even death from the seasonal and H1N1 flu. That’s partly because of changes in their immune system. In fact, Dr. Sonja Rasmussen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says women may even have a higher risk of flu-related health problems for up to two weeks after they give birth.

So Dr. Rasmussen says women who are pregnant or whose pregnancies recently ended should contact their doctor right away if they have flu symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, or runny nose.

And Dr. Rasmussen advises:

[Dr. Sonja Rasmussen speaks] ``Treatment should be initiated as early as possible, because studies show that treatment initiated early is more likely to provide benefit.’’

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011