Marin's first swine flu death was a pregnant woman; new study indicates they are more at risk

11:00 a.m. Update: Second pregnant Bay Area woman's death is swine flu-related.  33 year-old woman from Hayward died in July.

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A woman who was Marin's first confirmed death of H1N1 virus was pregnant.  33 year-old Jamie Norman, delivered a baby named Jack who was born two months prematurely, but he is doing well and is expected to return home.

Jamie's family believe that health care workers in Marin--specifically at Marin General Hospital (pictured at left)--were ill-prepared to care for 33 year-old Jaime Norman and that it took them by surprise. Norman was eventually transferred to Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley where she died on June 30.

Now the Lancet medical journal has released a study indicating pregnant women are far more at risk both to catch swine flu and to suffer complications from it.

According to the Lancet--

The estimated rate of admission for pandemic H1N1 influenza virus infection in pregnant women during the first month of the outbreak was higher than it was in the general population

The study found that women who died of H1N1 while pregnant, were all previously healthy and when they became ill, had to be placed on ventilators.  The study suggested that they may have benefited from receiving antivirals.

Health officials are now recommending that pregnant women be treated promptly with antivirals and that they be first in line to receive the vaccine when it is issued.

Meanwhile, Norman's husband awaits the return of his baby boy, whom his mother was able to hold just before she died. From ABC7-

     

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Pregnant women have long been known to be at increased risk for adverse effects from seasonal influenza, and health authorities recommend every year that all pregnant women be vaccinated. Even so, only about an estimated 15% receive the shots. The women are thought to be at risk of developing pneumonia -- and dying -- because of changes to their lungs and immune system that are a normal part of pregnancy, and many physicians fear that the risk is even higher with H1N1. In fact, British and Swiss health authorities have notoriously argued that women should pospone getting pregnant until after the pandemic has passed.