Gynecology Blog

Pregnant women in New York City were hard hit by the first wave of the H1N1 pandemic flu, researchers said. Expectant mothers were seven times more likely to be admitted to hospital if they contracted the flu than were nonpregnant women of reproductive age, according to CDC's Andreea Creanga, MD, PhD, and colleagues.

They were also seven times more likely to have severe disease -- defined by death or admission to intensive care -- Creanga and colleagues wrote in the April Obstetrics & Gynecology. The report is the second in five days to demonstrate that pregnant women are at greater risk for severe H1N1 flu. More...

Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology Chairman Tsai Hong-te said yesterday women in the first three months of pregnancy should not receive the swine flu vaccine. Women more than three months pregnant should take the advice of their doctor when deciding whether to get vaccinated, Tsai said.

Tsai, who held a press conference at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), complained that his previous comments on the vaccine had been misreported by the media. He was referring to a report in the latest edition of Next Magazine quoting him saying that pregnant women should not take the vaccine and that the CDC should reconsider its vaccination program, especially for pregnant women, noting that the vaccine could have a negative effect on pregnant women and their babies. More...