- Pneumonia is a serious illness that is a complication of the flu. Pregnant women, as we have seen, are more at risk for developing severe illnesses without an annual flu shot. It is a respiratory infection that causes inflammation of the lungs, causing breathing difficulty.
Influenza infections can cause preterm labor and premature birth, stillbirths, small size for the age of the newborn and perinatal death, or early newborn death.
In the first month of pregnancy, a fever can be disastrous to a fetus. Fevers in the mother could cause neural tube disorders such as spina bifida and anencephaly. In spina bifida, the fetal spinal column doesn’t close completely and there is typically nerve damage affecting the legs. Anencephaly is where most of the brain and skull doesn’t develop. The infant is usually stillborn or dies shortly after death.
In the second and third trimesters, a mother’s lungs need more oxygen since she is breathing for herself and the baby. But the growing belly puts pressure on the lungs, making them work harder for the same amount of oxygen in a smaller space. A mom’s heart is also working harder to supply blood to the baby as well as herself. This creates physiological stress on the mother’s body, and her immune system.
- Maternal influenza cancer risks. Though these are rare cancers we are discussing, they are still of serious concern during pregnancy. It was found that cancers such as neoplasms of lymphatic glands and of the tissues that develop all blood cells had a four-time increase of occurrences. There is also a risk of neuroblastomas. This is cancer that develops from immature nerve cells, and most commonly found around adrenal glands, which have the same origins as nerve cells. These glands sit atop the kidneys.