NZ Study Shows Value Of Vaccination During Pregnancy

Vaccination has been found to reduce preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth in a New Zealand study just published and promoted by the highly reputable Centre for Disease Control today.

Dr Anna Howe, research expert for Immunisation Advisory Centre has now published research (with others) on adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes associated with acute respiratory illness:

Multi-decade national cohort identifies adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes associated with acute respiratory illness hospitalisations during the influenza season ( see here)

Authors: Jazmin Duque, Anna S. Howe, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Helen Petousis-Harris

The team reviewed 16 years of data including 822,391 pregnancies between 2003 and 2018. Results show that maternal influenza vaccination was associated with reduced risk of preterm birth (adjusted Hazard Ratio 0.79), low birthweight (aHR 0.87) and fetal death (aHR 0.50).

Dr Anna Howe says, "this provides excellent reassurance for everyone wanting children - vaccination during pregnancy clearly provides protection for both parent and child."

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