Flu shots?

According to the CDC, because they are considered "high risk," all pregnant women should get a flu shot. The problem with this is that for the vast majority of flu vaccines, thimerosal (a form of mercury) is used as a preservative.

So on one hand, pregnant women are supposed to avoid certain types of fish because they may contain mercury, and mercury may or may not cause neurological disorders such as autism. On the other hand, according to the CDC (and most physicians), flu shots are "safe" because contain "only trace amounts" of mercury. To my thinking, any mercury is too much. A poster in the forum at mothering.com said it best:

"[O]ne more thing about trace amounts... if there were trace amounts of poop (or something poisonous) in their dinner, would they eat it? using that same arguement of trace amounts, eating just a tiny tiny bit of poop shouldnt be that big of a deal."

Another fishy thing about thimerosal-containing flu shots is that in the late 1990s, the US Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics agreed that as a precautionary measure, vaccines for children should be thimerosal-free. So young children are getting vaccines without thimerosal while pregnant women are getting the regular thimerosal-laden shots? Strange days indeed.

This is something I would never even have thought about, but my wife (god love her) wants to understand everything before committing to it, so she did some research over the weekend and learned about thimerosal. Needless to say, after researching the risks both ways, we've decided that she will not be getting any shot that is not thimerosal-free.

Of course, everyone has to make their own decisions, but I would encourage all dads-to-be to do some research to determine whether the flu shot is right for your partner.