Mothers-to-be should consider getting a flu shot while pregnant in order to protect their newborns against influenza was the conclusion of a new study published in the Sept. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Influenza is mostly treatable in adults but unusually deadly in infants and the measure would benefit both the mother and the child, the study authors wrote. In fact, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts have recommended that pregnant women get a flu shot, but only 12 to 13 percent do get the shot. The vaccine is also recommended for infants between 6 and 24 months of age, but not for younger babies. This is where the vaccine given to pregnant women comes along, according to the study. It appears the vaccine protects the infants younger than 6 months of age.

The study, conducted by Dr. Mark C. Steinhoff, of Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, tracked the health of a group of 340 Bangladesh pregnant women during 2004-2005. Some of the women were given the shot, while the others weren’t. Then the researchers tracked the rates of respiratory illnesses among both moms and babies for the first 24 weeks after delivery and found that babies born to vaccinated mothers had a 63 percent lower risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza compared to babies whose mothers had not received the flu shot.

“Our study shows that a newborn's risk of infection can be greatly reduced by vaccinating Mom during pregnancy. It's a two-for-one benefit. Infants under six months have the highest rates of hospitalization from influenza among children in the U.S.,” Steinhoff said.

The study also found that vaccinating pregnant women cut both infants’ and mothers’ risk of respiratory disease with fever by one-third, prevented respiratory disease with fever in 14 infants and seven mothers for every 100 woman vaccinated and prevented one case of lab-confirmed flu for every 16 women vaccinated.

“There’s never been evidence that immunizing the mother provides a big benefit to the baby that’s what this study is about. More people should consider doing it,” Steinhoff said.

Maybe the findings of the study would make more women choose vaccination while pregnant and not only in the US, but also in other parts of the world, the researchers said. In poor countries for example where access to health care is limited, getting vaccinated is considered a real problem. Therefore, the risk of getting influenza and dying because of it is higher. The study should be regarded as a wake up call for health care providers all over the world. It is already known that influenza infections raise the risk of hospitalization in pregnant women and birth defects and other ailments for their newborns. According to a 2005 report in the New England Journal, death rates from the flu among children are highest in those under 6 months of age.

The study was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Agency for International Development, the Department of Health and Human Services, Wyeth, Sanofi and other organizations.