Pregnant women warned to get flu jab

UP to 2,000 pregnant women in Ireland could become seriously ill after contracting swine flu this year, a medical expert warned yesterday.

Consultant obstetrician Dr Michael O’Connell said pregnant women who contracted the virus were four times more likely to develop complications including early labour or pneumonia from the virus. “This disorder is serious enough that if you get the serious end of the spectrum it can potentially be fatal,” he said.

The Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland is now urging pregnant or breastfeeding women to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus.