Decisions, decisions

I am currently 29.5 weeks pregnant. Like my last pregnancy two years ago, I have been feeling pretty good, with no morning sickness or other complications. My blood pressure is low, the ultrasounds have shown a healthy baby, and even my weight gain has been on track. Unlike my last pregnancy, this one coincides with what has the potential to be the biggest public health crisis in history: the H1N1 flu.

It being October, the time has come for the regular seasonal flu shots. Pregnant women have always gone to the front of the line for those and in 2007 I had no qualms about getting the vaccine. I have little hesitation about getting the regular flu shot this time too (I did not get it last year, when I was not pregnant). It is the H1N1 vaccine that has me vexed.

Given the potentially devastating consequences of what could happen if I do contract the virus, it makes sense that I get the vaccine, but part of me is concerned with how fast it was developed, not to mention the fact that pregnant women have not been included in any trials to date. On the other hand, dying from a disease that could have been prevented is not exactly at the top of my list of Things to Do. Just how easily the disease could be contracted was driven home a couple of weeks ago when Murray came home from an ultimate Frisbee game with the news that one of his teammates - someone he had played with the previous week - had since come down with the swine flu. At the time Murray was showing signs of a bad cold, which was apparently how the flu first manifested itself in his teammate, so we were pretty concerned. It turns out Murray just had what could best be described as allergies and we were all clear, but it was stressful nonetheless.

Still, I hesitate. The most likely scenario is that the baby will be born before the vaccine becomes widely available anyway, although I might still have a few weeks to go. I just want a healthy baby. I hope that is not too much to ask.