MENINGOCOCCUS AND PREGNANCY

Research in Holland finds an increased risk of meningococcal infection in children when their mothers are pregnant.

The theory is that pregnant women are a bit immuno-compromised. Their immunity's a bit less than other women of the same age. The reason that their immunity's down a little bit is that they don't want to reject the foetus.

In doing so, they become a little bit susceptible to other infections, and it's possible that they, if they get the meningococcus it's more likely to get a foothold – in their nose – and it's more likely that they would have lots of organisms there, so they might be more infectious.

I never thought that a woman's pregnancy could have such a direct effect on the health of her other children.  So it behooves us moms to make sure that during pregnancy we support our kids with the best nutrition we can in order to maximize their immune systems, promote good hygeine, and watch with even more care for signs of illness.