Given the widespread effects of the pandemic, the COVID vaccines had to be quickly developed, and not enough data was available for pregnant women to make an informed decision. Now more data is available, and it strongly suggests that taking the shot is the safer option for pregnant women.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now released a complete list of recommendations for pregnant women, as well as mothers who breastfeed or women who plan to get pregnant soon. The new information confirms the safety of the COVID vaccine, and, more than that, it highlights that not getting the shot represents in fact the risky option.
A recent study looked at 2500 women who had the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccines in the first 20 weeks of their pregnancy or before they became pregnant. According to that study, 13% of women suffered miscarriages, while on average, 11 to 16% of future mothers have a miscarriage. Therefore, it can be concluded that the risk of miscarriage is not increased for vaccinated women.
Another study that included more than 35,000 women discovered that there were no notable changes in the rates of premature birth or pregnancy loss compared to the pre-COVID data. More than that, it appears that the efficiency of the vaccine might actually extend to the newborn baby. A different study analysed the efficiency of the vaccine in pregnant women and discovered that the babies were born with some antibodies that protected them against the virus. This is not uncommon, as vaccinated mothers often end up passing immunity to the baby.
On the other hand, pregnant women and new mothers are more exposed to the risk of COVID-19, and it is more likely they will have a severe form of the illness. Moreover, COVID increases the risk of premature birth and it can affect the health of the baby.
