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H1N1 & Seasonal Flu
- H1N1 Vaccine & Resources
- For Hospital Visitors
- Pregnancy & Influenza FAQs
- Flu Info for Maternity Care Patients
- Protect Your Newborn from the Flu
- Seasonal Flu Shots
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Protect Against the Seasonal Flu & H1N1:
For New Parents Leaving the Hospital
Download this information as a PDF.
We hope the following suggestions, based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will help keep you, your family and newborn healthy.
What is this new flu virus?
The 2009 H1N1 flu virus (sometimes called "swine flu") was first detected in people in the U.S. in April 2009. It spreads like the seasonal flu, from person-to-person.
What can I do to protect myself?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a yearly seasonal flu vaccine. You can also get a vaccine for the H1N1 flu. So, if you did not get vaccinated during pregnancy, you and your family should get vaccinated now. Infants over six months of age can be vaccinated.
These simple measures will help protect you and your baby:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand cleaner.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- Avoid contact with sick people.
- Eat nutritious foods; drink fluids and get enough rest.
What can I do to protect my baby?
- Because your baby's immune system is not fully developed, you and your baby should avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Tell visitors and family members who are sick, or who have any symptoms of illness, to stay away.
- Try to keep sick family members who live with you in a separate room away from you and your baby. If that's not possible, try to keep baby at least six feet away from sick family members.
- Avoid taking your baby to crowded places, like shopping malls or stores. If you need to go to these places, keep your baby close to you. Hold your baby in your arms, or use a baby sling/snuggli or other baby wrap. Keeping baby close will minimize baby's contact with germs.
Feeding your baby
Bottle feeding
- Flu is spread in the droplets that come from coughs and sneezes.
- Be sure to wash your hands before preparing infant formula and before feeding your baby a bottle.
- Be sure all equipment used in formula preparation and feeding has been washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed well.
- Hold baby close during feeding.
- Avoid coughing or sneezing into baby’s face.
Breastfeeding
- Flu is spread in the droplets that come from coughs and sneezes. Flu is not spread through breast milk.
- Breast milk has antibodies, and other special properties, that help your baby fight infection.
- If you get the flu, your body will make antibodies to help you fight the flu. These antibodies are also in your breast milk. So, breastfeeding can help keep your baby from getting sick.
- Wash your hands before touching your breasts and before feeding your baby.
- Avoid coughing or sneezing into baby’s face.
- If you become sick and feel too sick to breastfeed, you can express or pump your breast milk. Your baby should be fed the expressed milk by another person who is well.
Watch for signs that you or your baby may be sick
The symptoms of seasonal flu and H1N1 are similar:
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Stuffy nose
- Sometimes vomiting and diarrhea
If you do get sick, stay home as much as possible to avoid spreading the illness to other people.
If you have questions or concerns, call your doctor, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner or your baby’s doctor or nurse practitioner. He or she will have the answers that are right for you.
Web resources
The websites listed below are a good resource and are updated frequently.
- On the CDC web site:
- Minnesota Department of Health - H1N1 influenza
- Flu.gov, a web site managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- March of Dimes
