while it's too soon to know much about how swine flu affects a fetus women with swine flu do seem to be at a higher risk for premature delivery. in past pandemics pregnant women with flu had higher rates of stillbirth spontaneous abortion and premature birth. also flu comes with fever. studies have shown that a fever during the first trimester doubles the risk of neural tube defects and may be associated with other adverse outcomes. the risk for birth defects associated with fever may be mitigated by the use of anti-fever medications and/or a multivitamin that contains folic acid but data are limited.
can a pregnant woman pass h1n1 swine flu to her unborn baby?