In Missouri, pregnant women must get vaccines without the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. The problem is there isn’t nearly enough thimerosal-free H1N1 vaccine for the estimated 60,000 pregnant women in Missouri.

LeAnn Pyatt is counting the days until her bundle arrives, not only so she can finally meet her son but also so she can put the fear of the H1N1 flu behind her.

“It's just a scary situation,” said Pyatt.

She and thousands of other pregnant women have heard the statistics. They're more likely to get pneumonia with H1N1, be put on a ventilator and six times more likely to die than people who aren't pregnant.

“We were supposed to be at the top to protect babies; then we should be able to do that,” said Pyatt.

“These vaccines will be coming in weekly, but in small amounts,” said Jaci McReynolds, a spokeswoman for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

It's also frustrating for physicians like Dr. Patricia Dix, a perinatal specialist for CoxHealth Systems.

“I tell everyone to get it and then they tell me that can't,” said Dix.

She's so worried about it that she says Missouri should consider lifting the ban on vaccines containing thimerosal for pregnant women.

“The risk from the vaccine is tiny. The risk from the flu is huge,” said Dix.

Because that's unlikely to happen, she says pregnant women need to take drastic steps to protect themselves and their unborn babies.

“Don't shake hands, stay out of crowds, grocery shop at 8 instead of 4 when everyone is out,” said Dix.

“It's really frustrating. You're trying to do the best you can to protect a being that's not born and, to not have options for you, it's hard,” said Pyatt.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department had 900 thimerosal-free doses of H1N1 vaccine on Tuesday but is getting more weekly. Health department officials say a perceived shortage this week could change as early as next week, so you should continue to call your doctor.

Children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years also must get thimerosal-free vaccines but it is actually a half dose, different then what pregnant women get. That type of vaccine is not available at all in Greene County, so parents of those children still have to wait. Also, it's important to note, kids over age 2 can get the flu mist, if they're healthy.