Is Covid Vaccine Safe During Pregnancy?

 

If you are pregnant or planning to be you’re probably concerned about the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on you and your developing baby. You might be asking yourself if covid vaccine is safe during pregnancy. So, here’s what you need to know.

Is Covid Vaccine Safe During Pregnancy?

Let’s first take a look at why you might be concerned if you are pregnant or planning to be.

The main reason why women got concerned about the covid vaccine today is because a rumor that COVID-19 vaccines might harm fertility spread out on the internet a while ago, mainly the vaccines that focus on the mRNA platform. Which is why they first came up with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The specific claim is that antibodies that recognize the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can cross-react with the human placental protein syncytin1 and damage the placenta. This means that if cross-reactivity did happen, vaccines on all platforms, as well as natural infections, would be linked to placental pathology as well.

What experiments and studies has shown?

People who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 shortly before or early in pregnancy are not more likely to miscarry than their uninfected peers. This is because a natural experiment shows that this is not likely to be the case. It’s still possible that antibodies against spike protein could cross-react with antibodies against syncytin1. Immunologists have taken more formal steps to deal with this, though. There is no significant similarity between the amino acid sequences of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and syncytin1, and convalescent serum from COVID-19 patients does not react with syncytin1.

That’s not the only thing that can answer the question of whether the COVID-19 vaccines hurt fertility, here’s more.

More clinical trials themselves give the clearest answer. Vaccines don’t stop female rats from getting pregnant or harm their babies if they get them while they’re pregnant, according to studies on development and reproduction. From the volunteers who got pregnant during the clinical trials, we can also figure out how the vaccines affect pregnancy in humans, because they got pregnant during the trials. Pregnant people were not allowed to take part in the trials, and participants were told not to get pregnant. However, 53 pregnancies were found in the trials of the three vaccines that have been approved in the UK so far. There was no big difference in the rate of accidental pregnancies between the groups that got vaccines and the groups that didn’t get vaccines. This means that vaccines don’t stop humans from getting pregnant. Similarly, the rates of miscarriage are the same in both groups, which shows that vaccines have no negative effect on early pregnancy.

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Risks you might face if not receiving covid vaccine during pregnancy.

Although there is not to much data yet, it is still by far reassuring that pregnant woman should be offered the vaccine because the benefits outweigh the potential risks. Let’s remember that during pregnancy your immune system is not working at its best, because is weakened. Therefore, women who are pregnant or have recently become pregnant are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 than people who are not pregnant. There are many types of severe illnesses, but the most common are illnesses that require hospitalization, intensive care, need for a ventilator or special equipment to breathe, or cause death. As a result, people who have COVID-19 during pregnancy are more likely to have a premature birth or stillbirth, and they may be more likely to have other pregnancy problems too.

Finally let’s take a look at what studies had shown about the Safety and Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination during Pregnancy.

Vaccination during pregnancy builds antibodies that will not only protects you but also your baby.

As soon as people get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine while they are pregnant, their bodies start making antibodies against COVID-19, just like people who aren’t pregnant. A person who was pregnant and had an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine made antibodies that were found in the blood of the umbilical cord. People who get COVID-19 while they’re pregnant might protect their babies from COVID-19. More research is needed to figure out how these antibodies. Which are similar to those made by other vaccines, might protect the baby.

Early data on the safety of receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech) during pregnancy are reassuring.

Pregnant women who get a vaccine called mRNA COVID-19 (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech) that contains mRNA COVID-19 are likely to be safe. There were no problems with people who got an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine while they were pregnant or with their babies. Early data from three safety monitoring systems didn’t show any problems with them.

The risk of having a miscarriage doesn’t go up for people who get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine just before and during early pregnancy (before 20 weeks of pregnancy).

There is still a lot of monitoring going on for COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. To better understand how vaccines affect pregnancy and babies, the CDC will keep track of people who get them during all three trimesters of their pregnancy.

Early data suggest receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy reduces the risk for infection. 

Recent studies from Israel compared people who were pregnant and received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with people who did not. Scientists found that vaccination lowered the risk of infection from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Pregnant people and their babies will not get COVID-19 from COVID-19 vaccines, even if they get them. There is no live virus in any of the COVID-19 vaccines, so they can’t make people who are pregnant or their babies sick with COVID-19.

Related posts you might like to read after.

Tips to talk to your children about the Covid-19.

Coronavirus and pregnancy. What you need to know.

Final thoughts about the safety of the Covid Vaccine During Pregnancy.

The great take away from today’s article is that pregnant women should get the COVID-19 vaccine to protect them from the virus. This includes women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant in this present moment, or might become pregnant in the near future. If you get a COVID-19 vaccine, it can help you avoid getting very sick from COVID-19.

A healthy mom is crucial for a healthy baby. In the event that you are pregnant, you might want to talk to your doctor about getting a COVID-19 vaccine. If you have a conversation with your doctor before getting a vaccine, it might be good, but it’s not required.

These recommendations are in line with those from professional medical groups that work with people who are pregnant. These groups include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as well as the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine and a lot of others.

I hope this article helps, share your thoughts below.

Zadi, xo

Disclaimer: The medical information on this post is for educational and entertainment use only. Under no circumstances, this information is to replace your doctor’s advice or to treat any disease. For proper care, always visit your doctor.