Having a flu jab while pregnant does not increase the risk that the baby will have autism, a new study has confirmed.
Researchers from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found no link between the H1N1 flu vaccine during pregnancy and risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
In their study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers, led by Dr Jonas F Ludvigsson, wrote: “There are concerns that influenza vaccine exposure during pregnancy may be associated with increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“This large cohort study found no association between maternal H1N1 vaccination during pregnancy and risk for ASD in the offspring.”
In the study, the researchers analysed live birth records between October 2009 and September 2010.
In total, 39,726 infants were prenatally exposed to the flu vaccine, while 29,293 were unexposed.
The team then followed up with the infants in December 2016, around six years after the study started.
The results revealed that the number of autism cases were virtually the same between the vaccine-exposed and unexposed children.
This suggests that receiving the flu vaccine while pregnant does not increase the risk that your child will develop autism.
In a discussion about the findings, Dr Anders Hviid from the University of Copenhagen, who was not involved in the study, said: “There is no doubt that vaccination in pregnancy is an important strategy for influenza prevention. Influenza infection in pregnancy can pose serious health risks to mother and child.
“Vaccination in pregnancy not only protects the mother and fetus but also provides protection in infancy directly by transfer of maternal antibodies and indirectly by preventing transmission from the mother.”
