Flu still a danger for Michiana babies

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- According to the Centers for Disease Control's weekly flu report, as of February 1st, 22.5 people out of every 100,000 in the United States were hospitalized with the flu.

"Children are at higher risk of developing complications from the flu,” Dr. Maged Ibrahim, a Pediatrician at Memorial Hospital.



Doctor Ibrahim urges parents to protect their babies with a simple flu vaccination before it is too late.



“We see that quite a lot," says Doctor Ibrahim. "It could be a normal healthy baby, then they get the flu and they develop breathing problems because of it, they are wheezing, they could develop pneumonia.”



“It came on like a ton of bricks actually, it hit him really hard and he was out for about 48 hours,” says South Bend mother Brittney Baily.



Baily is a mother to a one-year old that just experienced his first flu. But Baily strays away from getting her son vaccinated.



“My husband was vaccinated, and he ended up getting the flu also and actually all three of us had it and it was horrendous," says Baily. "We are going to keep trying with more Vitamin C."



Other new mothers are planning on getting their baby vaccinated as soon as possible.



“I have, we just have to make an appointment," says Elizabeth Fuentes. "Because of how sick she got when she got the flu.”



Discomfort is something many moms are trying to avoid.



“Because I have gotten the flu, and I know how miserable it is and I couldn’t imagine them getting it they are just so little,” says parent Shawna Marina.



Flu season ends around March. Doctor Ibrahim says the best way to protect your baby is to make sure your entire household is vaccinated so you don't pass it to one another if someone gets sick.