December 31, 2009
In a government report published yesterday, the Ministry of Health advised that women who wanted to be pregnant now or in the near future should consider postponing their plans to avoid getting pregnant in the flu season.
According to the ministry, pregnant women who have pre-existing conditions, especially the overweight ones will face high risks to develop serious complications including miscarriage, premature birth, fetal distress, and stillbirth; death incidence is also higher among the pregnant women, who account for about 13.7% of the death toll caused by H1N1 flu.
The ministry announced that there were a total of 4,448 newly diagnosed H1N1 flu patients in the last week, among whom, 1,380 were hospitalized. Meanwhile, 93 patients who were diagnosed earlier died.
The ministry warned that with the Chinese new year approaching, increasing population movement will also increase the chances of catching the disease. People who have developed symptoms such as fever and respiratory infection should avoid close contact with others.