Myth Busters is a collaboration of Public Health – Madison & Dane County and local health care providers.

MYTH: Women are having miscarriages due to receiving the H1N1 vaccine.

FACTS:
There is no data showing a correlation between pregnant women who receive the H1N1 vaccine and miscarriages. In fact, millions of women have been vaccinated for years with the seasonal flu shot with no harmful effects to the baby or mother.
Here are some of the facts:
• Every week in the U.S., 14,000 women miscarry, 140 people are diagnosed with Guillain-Barre and 8,700 die from heart attack. The rate for all of these remains constant, whether or not those individuals received a flu shot. Source: http://www.flu.gov/myths/index.html. Further information about Guillain-Barre is also available at http://www.publichealthmdc.com/disease/swineflu/immunization/vaccineSafety.cfm
• Data does definitively show an increased risk of complications or death for pregnant women who become sickened with H1N1. In addition, the H1N1 virus has caused some women to go into early labor. That's why we strongly urge all pregnant women to receive both the seasonal and H1N1 vaccinations.
Keep in mind that pregnant women are only eligible to get the injectable form of the H1N1 vaccine, as the nasal mist form was not approved for use on this group.
For further information about H1N1pertaining to pregnant women, including the CDC's “What Should Pregnant Women Know About 2009 H1N1 Flu”, see http://www.publichealthmdc.com/disease/swineflu/pregnant.cfm
For more information about the 2009 H1N1 “flu shot” or nasal spray flu vaccines, see http://www.publichealthmdc.com/disease/swineflu/immunization/vaccine.cfm