From the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society for
Obstetrics and Gynecology. Even though the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention identified pregnant women as one of the
five initial target groups to receive the 2009 monovalent H1N1
influenza vaccine, many pregnant women report not knowing about
the importance of vaccination. The finding comes from a cross-
sectional study of 813 postpartum women at the University of
Colorado Hospital conducted between November 2009 and May 2010.
Barbra M. Fisher, a maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the
University of Colorado, Denver, reported that 64% of women
received the seasonal influenza vaccine during the study period
and 54% received the novel H1N1 influenza vaccine. Women who
chose not to receive either vaccine cited the following reasons
for opting out: not knowledgeable about the importance of
vaccination (25%), concern for effects on fetal health (18%),
concern for effects on maternal health (9%) and not knowing
where to obtain vaccination (9%). I