Vaccine and Pregnancy

kam174 · March 2021

Another covid question for you ladies. I’m in NY, and my doctors have basically told me “it’s your call” when it comes to getting the vaccine while pregnant. Their stance is basically that there’s no studies on the effects of covid on pregnancies, and also no studies on the effects of the vaccine on pregnancies. So they’re not taking a side. Very frustrating. My friend is a doctor and she said if she were pregnant right now, she would get the vaccine - not only is she exposed to covid daily, but she also believes the vaccine could cross the placenta and help baby produce antibodies, which could help protect baby once it’s born. What is everyone doing? What are your doctors saying? Are you getting vaccinated while pregnant? Help! 😖

halfanewt · March 2021

Personally, I’m waiting. That said, I think the majority of my BMB are getting it. It’s a tough choice!

I’m getting “it’s your choice” as well from my midwives. My GP says that as well, but advises I wait for a few reasons: lack of data, I’m still wfh and in a pretty solid bubble, my vaccine reactions vary from ‘no big deal’ to ‘completely out of commission’ - the Tdap with my first pregnancy gave me contractions for 3 days.

wildrainbow · March 2021

I am not pregnant right now, my baby was born in June. That said, my friend just gave birth while she was covid positive. Baby did NOT have covid, and she is breastfeeding. There have been some very interesting studies that show that breastmilk actually "alternates" the covid rna and provides antibodies for the baby. Most of these studies are in the early stages and are fairly small sample sizes, however, they have all found the same thing, that the breastmilk alternates (for lack of a better term) the rna and baby doesn't consume the "live" virus.

It is completely your choice and I think you would need to weigh heavily how your exposure is, and what your plans are post birth. I personally, am not a fan of doing it because of the lack of research, but, I stay at home in a pretty tight bubble. I can say the studies that I've read show that just because mom gets, or has covid at birth doesn't mean baby will get it, and if you choose to BF, baby gets the antibodies. Again, those are preliminary studies, based on mothers who were covid positive at birth.

mbradfo2 · March 2021

I got the vaccine (both doses) Jan/early Feb. While I'm not pregnant, I would have still gotten it if I had been pregnant (transfer in upcoming eeeee).

While there have been no specific studies, observational data suggest that covid is more risky in pregnant women -- they seem to get severe disease at a higher rate than the general population. The data behind this is still in its infancy, but it was sufficient to add pregnant women to the high risk category in CDC recommendations.
If you have a high risk of exposure (older kids going to preschool/school, healthcare field, other first responders in the household), I would absolutely say to get the vaccine, especially if you are pregnant.

The vaccine is largely safe - obviously, there are risks and unknowns, that's true of everything - but there has yet to be evidence of any major safety issues with the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson/Johnson vaccine. There were reports of blood clot issues with AstraZeneca, but there's been no real data to back that up yet (as of this AM). Pregnant women were inadvertently enrolled as members of some vaccine trials and there were no ill effects of note, so I would think that safety in pregnancy is probably equivalent to that of a flu vaccine. You can expect mild side effects (most commonly) if you get the vaccine; I had some soreness at the injection site the next day after my first dose; after my second dose, I developed a low grade fever and fatigue.

If you generally don't have issues with vaccines, this is not going to be uncharted territory for you -- you will likely be just fine and may provide some added protection for baby even if you are bottle feeding. If you think you are sensitive with vaccines and you live a low-risk lifestyle, you could put it off for a few months or so without much concern, imo.

[Deleted User] · March 2021

My two cents, assuming you are not out working in an environment rife with active infection, I would skip it. I generally believe in the body's ability to produce its own antibodies better than the pharmaceutically manufactured substitutes, which in this case has also not been studied long at all. To me it's just not worth the risk of introducing an unproven drug into baby's otherwise closed system via injection. 😬😬😬 I am a hard cringey pass.

kam174 · March 2021

Thanks all! I appreciate the opinions. I am very lucky to be WFH since this all started last March, but my boss is talking about a possible June return to the office - when he thinks most will be vaccinated - which is making me stress a bit about being the only non-vaccinated person in a large office building. I guess I can cross that bridge when we get there. I have another friend who is also pregnant and using a midwife who gave her a definitive “no, don’t get it.” Just wish the doctors would take a hard stance either way so it wasn’t “up to us.”

@mbradfo2 good luck with your transfer!! 💕

mbradfo2 · March 2021

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/25/health/pregnant-women-covid-19-vaccines-study-wellness/index.html

Some more information on the vaccine and newborns/pregnant/lactating women.

kam174 · March 2021

Hi all! Just wanted to follow up here to say that I watched a webinar 2 weeks ago that my OBGYn office was offering on this topic. It had a few different experts speaking and answering questions, including infectious disease doctors, as well as Obgyns. Essentially their overall message was “if you have the opportunity to get vaccinated, do it.” They said a lot of the rumors about the vaccine (i.e. that it can cause IF) are just not true. In fact, new studies are finding that COVID can actually cause lower sperm motility and fertility issues in men. The vaccine does not pass through the placenta, so it does not in any way reach the baby. However the benefit of getting vaccinated while pregnant is that your baby may get the antibodies, so your baby could be born with an immunity to covid. They also pointed out that covid negatively impacts pregnant women - and obviously has killed so many people. Meanwhile the vaccine has a 95% effective rate at preventing death. My friend is a biology teacher and she suggested that this vaccine has likely changed the way we will vaccinate in the future because it’s so ingenious and has a previously unheard of effective rate. For reference, she said that the flu vaccine is only 30% effective. I also saw another doctor in my OBGYn practice who took a hard stance on the benefits of getting vaccinated if you’re in your 2nd or 3rd trimester. He even mentioned that his own daughter is 8 months pregnant and was recently vaccinated. Just wanted to share all of this because it definitely helped make my decision easier hearing directly from infectious disease doctors and other experts on this topic. I ended up getting my first moderna shot last weekend. The only side effect was a slightly sore arm. I already feel a sense of comfort being in public / around others (of course still mask-wearing and social distancing), and I hope that some of the antibodies pass on to my baby. Hope all of this information is helpful for others trying to make this tough decision 💕

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