'Tis the Season . . . for Viruses

From the time the line on the pregnancy stick turns pink, pregnant women are handed the World’s Longest List of Don’ts. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t consume caffeine. Don’t go into a newly painted room. Don’t eat sushi. Don’t eat more than one can of tuna per week. Don’t eat deli meat. Don’t eat unpasteurized cheese. Don’t eat soft cheeses. Don’t clean the litter box. Don’t eat hotdogs. Don’t eat any meat that’s not so overdone that it’s burnt all the way through. Don’t eat alfalfa sprouts. Don’t drink herbal teas. Don’t take any medication—ever. Don’t take any supplements not expressly approved by your doctor. Don’t expose yourself to exhaust fumes. Don’t hang around people who smoke. Don’t fly. Don’t ski. Don’t ride your bike. Don’t sleep on your back. Don’t sleep on your stomach. Don’t consume too much vitamin A. Don’t overexert yourself. Don’t lift heavy objects. Don’t sit still for too long so as to avoid blood clots. Don’t wait to go to the bathroom—it causes urinary tract infections. Don’t use certain acne medications. Don’t get your hair dyed. Don’t get your nails done. Don’t allow yourself to become stressed. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t. Then, after all of this, we’re told to run—not walk!—to get our H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination. A vaccination that has 300 times (or so I’m told) more mercury in it than my one weekly allotment of tuna fish. And mercury is correlated with autism and ADHD. (The studies seem to conflict a bit about mercury and autism, so there’s not a definite causal relationship.) Still, I’m expected to unflinchingly put all of the vaccine chemicals into my body without having a clue how they will affect the baby just in case I come into contact with the virus before Miss Charlotte arrives. As I began researching whether or not I should get the vaccine, I came across website after website and interview after interview that mocked the pregnant women who are a tad skeptical about a vaccine that was rushed in its creation—and, I believe, made in China. After all, we’re the most at-risk folks out there. Swine flu could kill us or our babies. (Swine flu could also just make you pretty miserable for a few days.) We’re supposed to jump in the vaccination line because the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention—a government agency—and President Obama have told us to. If we hesitate, if we try to get our facts first, or (gasp!) we choose not to get the vaccine, we’re easily duped morons who believe in government conspiracy theories or we’re careless mothers-to-be who are deliberately threatening the health of our unborn children. I beg to differ. I am not going to jump in line out of government-induced fear. I’m not going to jump in line in as a public service to my neighbor or co-workers to keep the disease from spreading. I’m not going to jump in line because my work encouraged me to. I’m going to do my homework. I’m going to talk to my doctor. I’m going to make the best decision that I can. I did my homework. Perhaps surprisingly, I am inclined to go ahead and get the H1N1 shot. But first, I will talk to my doctor at my next appointment on 10/19. Until then, I will get the regular seasonal flu shot this weekend. It is required before the H1N1 shot, it has been (and I use this term loosely) proven safe for pregnant women, and many years of use by pregnant women seem to back up this “proof.” Then, if my doctor encourages it and I can get access to the version without the mercury derivative (which apparently is being made in smaller amounts, but pregnant women have top priority to receive it), I will get the H1N1 shot. I hope that I am making the right decision.