This post was inspired by Dr.Viki Male, Imperial College London, work. Experts have recommended that it’s best to wait after 20 weeks to get the vaccine to make sure that the vaccine would not cause spontaneous abortion.
Yet, there is no strong research evidence so far that the vaccine causes spontaneous abortions, although some women in the early studies did have a spontaneous abortion. The researchers noted that the levels of loss were not significantly different from other women who did not get the vaccine.
To prevent premature babies, severe COVID-19, and hospitalization from COVID-19, the World Health Organization recommends the COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women when the benefits outweigh the risks. Of course, this is not medical advice and you should talk with your doctor to make the decision that is right for you based on your risks and benefits.
Just to clear up the fertility myth that COVID-19 vaccine causes infertility, here it is. There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines would reduce fertility Actually, some women who took part in the orginal research study became pregnant doing or after the study. These women received the vaccine during the study and were able to get pregnant.
Early in pregnancy and after pregnancy women don’t have usually have severe COVID-19 if they catch the virus. However, later in pregnancy, women would be at high risk of severe COVID-19 and could potentially (3 times as likely) give birth early and babies might end up in the NICU. So, it’s important to avoid getting COVID-19 late in pregnancy by considering getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, there are few anecdotal cases of babies developing antibodies once a mom gives birth after receiving the COVID-19 shot. This is another reason why vaccines are recommended for pregnant women. But overall, pregnant women should be more strict about public health measures such as masking, ventilation, handwashing, and should consider getting the vaccine to protect themselves.
Further, breastfeeding is not contraindicated to getting a COVID-19 vaccine and it is now known that it may benefit the baby as well. The vaccine would reduce transmission of the virus to others by 75% as seen in the general population. Ask your doctor which vaccine to get, but pregnant women in the UK received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
It is still not recommended to mix brands of vaccines yet. The ComCov trial will tell us more about vaccine mixing soon.
Resources
https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-womens-health/covid-19-vaccines-and-pregnancy/covid-19-vaccines-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding/
COVID-19 Vaccine and Breastfeeding.
Center for Disease Control
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafepregnancyregistry.html
Male, V. (2021. Explainer on COVID19 vaccination, fertility, pregnancy and
breastfeeding. Lecturer in Reproductive Immunology at Imperial College London