How are COVID-19 vaccines affecting pregnancy?
A friend of mine recently asked me if I knew anything about how the COVID-19 vaccinations were affecting pregnant people. There’s a lot of contradicting information out there, and I thought I’d chime in to share the information I’ve been directed to through my Doula cooperative, as well as the important snippets I’ve explored on my own. ***I am not a doctor and provide only my own opinions and findings, along with resources for the curious to do their own research.***
Important to note, *pregnant people were not included in the initial COVID-19 vaccination trials.* However now that the vaccines are in full swing, doctors are collecting more and more data by the day on how the vaccines seem to be affecting pregnant bodies and mothers in early postpartum. As of January, only two groups of pregnant women were eligible to get vaccinated; those with high risk medical conditions, and health/social care workers. The CDC and FDA have monitoring systems in place to assess the safety of vaccination in pregnant people, and thus far there is insufficient data available to draw any serious conclusions about how the vaccines affect pregnant people. In the studies performed on gestating animals who received the vaccinations, no safety concerns were reportedly found. We have reason to believe that these vaccinations will be safe for developing fetuses, but reality is we will not know until these babies are born. The CDC has a “v-safe” COVID-19 vaccine pregnancy vaccine registry that pregnant people can enlist in. Over 44,000 participants have enrolled as of March 8th, and scientists will be monitoring the outcomes of pregnancy post vaccination. I’ve included a link to the v-safe registry below.
Shifting gears to what I’ve gleaned from the work I do and reports from my birthing coworkers—some pregnant women seem to be more seriously affected by the COVID vaccinations in that they report more severe reactions to the shots. As for postpartum women who breastfeed have been reporting a serious, though unsustained dip in milk supply. *These are from reports of women in New Mexico that have been working with the birthing collective I am a part of, and are not part of a widespread data set.*
To me, the bottom line is that we do not know and will not know the full effects of this vaccine for years to come. I say this as someone who believes in the utility of routine vaccination for the right purposes, and as someone who has received both doses of the Moderna vaccine. This was the fastest vaccination to be created and administered in human history, and without years (decades, really) of data showing health effects and outcomes, there will be unanswerable questions. Different bodies respond differently to environment, disease, lifestyle, nutrition, and the reactions to the vaccinations really reflect this. My eighty-year-old therapist told me that after both doses of his COVID vaccination he felt absolutely nothing! No side effects. After my second dose, I was completely bed-ridden for over 24 hours.
I encourage those who believe it’s right for them to get vaccinated, and to do their own research beforehand. Each day we know more and more about the side effects and possible risks and benefits of the vaccinations. Whether you are wanting to conceive, pregnant, or have recently brought a child into the world, my heart goes out to you! These waters are so hard to navigate, but ultimately YOU know what’s right for your body and your baby. These times demand compassion above all else, as well as a community dedicated to sharing diverse scientifically backed information along with personal experience.
Be safe and be well. XO
CDC Recommendations for Pregnancy: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html
v-safe Registry: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafepregnancyregistry.html
