One night I was watching the news show NIGHTLine on television -which have topics that are noteworthy -about a pregnant woman who had the disease. She was hospitalized in a medically induced coma, breathing via respirator, and presently one of her lungs collapsed making matters potentially more deadly. Her husband was being interviewed by the host on the show about how H1N1 had torn the family apart.

The first fatality in the United States from H1N1 was a pregnant woman from Chicago in her early twenties who succumbed to the disease. There are countless other cases of pregnant women becoming infected with H1N1 Swine Flu who run into severe complications or died.

Pregnant women are now at the top of the list of persons who are at risk for complications after contracting the disease. There are two explanations which have emerged to explain why pregnant women are at risk.

The first explanation is that a pregnant woman's Immune System is compromised. As the body is working overtime to build the Fetus, the mother is being challenged psychologically, physically and hormonally; this weakens the Immune System.

As a lay person think of of this set of circumstances and the same outcome of the entire Armed Services of a country being deployed to another country leaving the homeland vulnerable to attack from outsiders. Thus, as the mother's body deploys her physical resources to build the fetus, her person is left wanting and possibly susceptible to this disease.

The other explanation is that as the stomach of the pregnant woman grows in size, it presses against the diaphragm,* which in turn squishes the lungs, making them smaller thereby increasing the chances of the virus lingering in that area. This may explain why a lot of pregnant women with the disease have respiratory failure and/or complications.

You may ask what can I do if I become pregnant You can follow the Center For Disease Control guidelines for controlling and treating this disease by above all washing your hands like it's no tomorrow and staying clear of sick people i.e. sneezers and coughers Know your overall health status by getting a physical exam to see if you have any chronic diseases. Keep connected to you Obstetrician and Primary Health Care Provider and ask about any precautions you need to take for your particular situation.

And if you unwittingly catch the disease and/or are exposed to someone infected, remember time is of the essence. There is a window of 24-48 hours after becoming infected which experts agree that it is important to get treated with the antivirals like Tamiflu to be most effective; any symptom should be a red flag and it would be better if you didn't wait for 24 hours to be treated.

If you are exposed to the disease a prophylactic**..dosing is recommended to prevent infection. This is especially true if you are pregnant. And don't be shy about telling the doctor of your fears and concerns. If they can listen to all my concerns in a fast paced and overwhelming market like Gotham-they can listen to yours.

Hence, as the virus reemerges and runs its course in the fall, which some say will be a return with an iron fist, pregnant women will again be at risk. And as a result of this they will be on the top of the list of people who should get whatever vaccine is available. However an ounce of preventions is worth a pound of cure, so we must be vigilant about taking steps to prevent the disease.

*Diaphragm-A muscular partition separating the thorax (cavity where lungs are) from the abdomen ( lower half of body)

**Prophylactic-Something taken to prevent disease