Vaccinating Pregnant Mothers Against Influenza, Whooping Cough Is Safe For Babies Too

Both influenza and whooping cough are highly contagious, and babies who catch these infections often require hospitalization for serious complications such as pneumonia. While health officials in many countries recommend vaccination against influenza and whooping cough during pregnancy to help protect newborns, research to date hasn’t offered a clear picture of the long-term safety of this practice.But            Infants are much less likely to get influenza or whooping cough when their mothers were vaccinated against these infections during pregnancy, and a new study suggests this doesn’t pose a safety risk for babies.

For the current study, researchers examined data on 413,034 babies born between 2004 and 2014, including 25,222 infants who were hospitalized and 157 who died within the first six months of life. They found no link between these fatalities or hospitalizations and women’s…