There was a recent article from Pediatric News entitled "Flu Vaccine in Pregnancy Benefits Baby, Too." In our opinion, this article, which was partially funded by Merck, is misleading and another example of "false advertising." In controlling for maternal age, black race, high school education, Medicaid or lack of insurance, and medical comorbidities, the study found that receipt of a maternal flu vaccine during pregnancy was associated with a 133.7 gram increase in birth weight. The article claimed the increased birth weight as another reason to give maternal flu vaccines during pregnancy. However, there was another statistically significant difference between the study groups related to prenatal care that questions the strength of their conclusion -- Women who received the flu vaccine had earlier and more frequent prenatal visits. We argue that the difference in prenatal care, and not the receipt of the maternal flu vaccine, is the reason for increased birth weight.
The article can be found at http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/elsevier/pn_201109/#/12
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