A recent study of University of Florida College of Medicine showed that babies born to mothers that had severe flu while pregnant were four times more likely to deliver premature babies and four and a half times more likely to deliver an underweight baby. The study also found that the mothers that had the most severe illnesses were eight times as likely to have a low Apgar score (the measurement of baby’s color, heart rate, reflexes, muscle tone, and breathing).

The researchers studied 490 pregnant women with the flu and 1,451 without flu. Sixty-four of the women with flu were so ill that they were admitted to a hospital ICU. The researchers are recommending that mothers protect themselves and their babies with vaccines.

Read more