New York Times Examines High Risks Of H1N1 In Pregnant Woman

Main Category: Swine Flu
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 22 Oct 2009 - 4:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

The New York Times on Tuesday profiled a 27-year-old Florida woman whose near-fatal case of H1N1 influenza during pregnancy exemplifies why health authorities believe pregnant women are the "group most threatened by swine flu and most in need of the new vaccine." Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 100 pregnant women had been admitted to intensive care units with H1N1 flu and 28 had died. However, the reported hospitalizations "are a tiny fraction of what are believed to have been millions of cases" across the U.S., the Times reports. Few families come forward to publicly disclose women's H1N1 cases, and privacy laws prevent health departments from releasing their names, according to the Times.

Experts say pregnant women are particularly susceptible to the flu because they are in the younger age group most prone to catching new viruses. They also are vulnerable because pregnancy can suppress a woman's immune system, with a growing fetus making it harder for the woman to clear her lungs.

The Times profiled Aubrey Opdyke, who was pregnant and otherwise healthy before coming down with mild flu symptoms in June. After a few weeks, her symptoms escalated and she was hospitalized. Opdyke was in a coma for five weeks, had a near-fatal seizure and experienced six collapsed lungs, during the third of which her infant was delivered via an emergency caesarean section at 27 weeks' gestation. The infant died shortly after delivery (McNeil, New York Times, 10/20).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.