Acupuncture: how objective is the evidence from randomised clinical trials?

Abstract

number of women treated. Surveillance data from Australia and New Zealand do not suggest an increase in disease severity between 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless, as Mr Dickson and Dr Anders observe, what is clear is that the disease can have severe consequences for both mothers and babies. Immunisation has the potential to prevent these adverse outcomes, and immunisation against seasonal influenza is available free to pregnant women in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Although the safety profile of the vaccine is now well established, data suggest that vaccine uptake rates among pregnant women have been surprisingly low. A survey in Western Australia of pregnant women entering the 2010 influenza season reported uptake rates of <7%; the most commonly cited reason for nonvaccination, in 64% of women, was that it had not been suggested during visits to their medical practitioner. However, 62% of women reported that they would have declined vaccination on the basis of safety concerns. There remains a public health imperative to strongly advocate immunisation, particularly in the context of health systems in which it is freely available. The health profession plays an important role in counselling women about the benefits and safety of immunisation, not only for themselves, but also for their unborn child. Our comparison suggested that women in the UK in the second phase of the pandemic, benefited from public health interventions introduced following the first wave of infection. Ongoing public health campaigns, including immunisation of pregnant women and early use of antiviral agents, are key to improving outcomes for women and their babies in the future.j