Awareness and acceptance of the pandemic influenza (H1N1v 2009) vaccination among antenatal patients in a district general hospital.

Pandemic H1N1 influenza virus was the cause of worldwide respiratory infection in 2009. The majority of these infections were self-limiting, however, high-risk groups, including pregnant women were at increased risk of mortality and morbidity from swine flu. Because of these risks, the World Health Organization recommended that pregnant women should receive the swine flu vaccine during pregnancy. The swine flu vaccine, like the seasonal flu vaccine, is safe to use in pregnancy. In view of the obvious benefits and safety of the pandemic flu vaccine, we decided to undertake a survey to assess the awareness and uptake of the vaccine among pregnant women in our local community. In our survey, lack of counselling from healthcare providers and fears of risks from the vaccine are the main reasons for refusal. For these reasons, healthcare professionals are provided with up-to-date information about the vaccine and are asked to provide this information to pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy in order to increase their awareness and acceptance of the vaccine.