For expecting mothers, getting a vaccine for flu or whooping cough during pregnancy does not pose a safety risk for babies when examining infant hospitalization rates and causes of death, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
Influenza and whooping cough can potentially kill newborns, who are too young to be vaccinated, the researchers noted.
Here are five things to know about the study.
1. The study authors analyzed data on 413,034 babies born between 2004-14, which included 25,222 infants who were hospitalized and 157 who died within the first six months of life. The researchers did not find a link between these infant deaths or hospitalizations and pregnant women's decisions to receive vaccines for whooping cough or the flu.
2. For the babies in the study who were hospitalized, 18 percent had respiratory problems, two percent had influenza and three percent had whooping cough.
3. Babies who were hospitalized for breathing problems were 21 percent less likely to have mothers who received the whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy than infants who were not hospitalized, the study found.
4. Although nine percent of infant deaths in the study had a respiratory cause, none of the fatalities were caused by influenza or whooping cough.
5. The most common causes of death for infants in the study were unknown causes, sudden infant death syndrome or medical problems infants developed during pregnancy or within a week after birth.