Loading...
Mortality among pregnant women was relatively high during the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics. Now, CDC investigators have reported hospital admission rates among pregnant women with confirmed or probable pandemic H1N1 (“swine”) flu. Of 34 pregnant women with H1N1 influenza infection, 11 (32%) were admitted to the hospital for 2 to 15 days; of these women, 3 were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 1 died. This hospital admission rate is four times higher than that in the general population. Moreover, of 45 people who died from pandemic H1N1 influenza from April 15 to June 16, 2009, 6 (13%) were pregnant women (age range, 20–33) who were otherwise healthy. Five of these women had viable pregnancies and underwent cesarean deliveries; …