A new study conducted by a doctor at the John Hopkins University’s Bloomerg School of Public Health recommends mother-to-be get a flu shot because it offers protection during the pregnancy for both mother and baby. The study has shown that a flu shot administrated to a pregnant woman can reduce a newborn’s risk of infection by 63 percent.

Dr. Mark Steinhoff, a paediatrician with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, who led the study, says the flu shot is “a two for one benefit,” since it protects both mother and child. “Infants under six months have the highest rates of hospitalization from influenza among children in the U.S. These admission rates are higher than those for the elderly and other high-risk adult groups,” Steinhoff said. The infections are mostly treatable in adults, but usually deadly in very young children.

The study, published online on Sept. 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine, was conducted in Bangladesh in collaboration with researchers from the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research (ICDDR,B). The research was conducted on a group of 340 pregnant women in Bangladesh and found the shots cut the risk of flu by 63 percent and the risk of respiratory illness overall by 29 percent. The shot also lowered the chance of getting fever and respiratory illness among the mothers by 36 percent.

Flu shots have been recommended for pregnant women by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1997, but the advice has been widely ignored, Steinhoff said.

Influenza is a viral illness and its symptoms include fever, cough, chills, sore throat, headache and muscle aches.

“Pregnant woman should be encouraged to be vaccinated for the flu to protect their infants and themselves,” the study’s senior author concluded.