Pregnant women do appear to be at greater risk of running into complications as a result of getting swine flu. The exact reason for this is unknown, but two pregnant women are thought to have died in the UK possibly as a result of swine flu and at least six are currently in intensive care with pandemic flu in Australia. My wife is currently 30 weeks pregnant and therefore this topic is particularly close to my heart.
Should she and other pregnant women stay at home and isolate themselves from society? What does “avoiding crowded places” (the advice from the Royal College of Midwives) actually mean? I think it’s up to individuals to make that decision. My wife continues to work as a doctor and has absolutely no intension of staying at home. She would however probably avoid being in the same room as someone who is clearly suffering from flu. She probably would take antivirals if she became ill but not purely as a precautionary measure. Again this is a personal choice as there is no rulebook - the safety of Ralenza in pregnancy is yet to be completely proven. And yes , she would accept vaccination if it were made available before our due date.
The views expressed in this blog are those of Dr Abu-Talib Chinwala BM MRCGP and not of any organisation he works for.
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