Torbay’s Public Health Team is supporting Public Health England’s national 2016 seasonal flu campaign by encouraging the uptake of the flu vaccine for pregnant women.

Deputy Mayor and Executive Lead for Health and Wellbeing, Derek Mills, said: “It is really important that pregnant women should have the flu vaccine in order to protect themselves and their babies. The flu vaccine can be given safely at any stage of pregnancy from conception onwards.”

Pregnant women benefit from the flu vaccine because it:

• reduces their risk of serious complications such as pneumonia, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy
• reduces the risk of miscarriage of having a baby born too soon or with a low birth weight
• helps protect their baby who will continue to have some immunity to flu during the first few months of its life
• reduces the chance of a mother passing infection to her new baby

If you are pregnant and think you may have flu you should talk to your doctor urgently as there is a prescribed medicine which may help or reduce the risk of complications. This medicine needs to be taken as soon as possible after the symptoms appear.

You can get the free flu vaccine from your GP or it may also be available from your pharmacist or midwife.  A flu vaccine is needed for each pregnancy.

More information is available at
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/flu-jab-vaccine-pregnant.aspx