I get asked this question on a regular basis, “Dr. Riley, what do you recommend in regards to the covid vaccination in pregnancy?”
To an average person (and even medical field personnel), sometimes it's hard to weed through the contradictory and confusing topics circling on social media, the news, and among skeptical people. Of course the common questions arise:
This is a new vaccine and was produced so fast, so how do we know it’s effects?
What are the long term effects on those receiving the vaccine?
How long does it last?
How do I know how if it will affect my unborn baby or the long term effects on my pregnancy/future child’s health?
....and many many more
We can only go based on what science has provided and trust that. Many vaccinations have been created in the past and are created yearly to protect us from future pandemics and spread that could occur otherwise.
We have tried wearing masks, isolating ourselves, practicing social distancing, and much more. While this has somewhat helped, numbers diagnosed and deaths have continued to rise and we’ve seen those still being admitted to hospitals, intubated, suffering, undergoing trial medications, separation from family and friends. Even new strands of the virus are emerging despite having new vaccines. It’s hard to keep up and science is trying to do that!!
So what is our part in all this? What can we do?
It’s simple as this—get vaccinated. Provide that extra layer of protection to yourself, for your family members, loved ones, coworkers, and the remaining members of society that continue to be susceptible to this growing and frustrating virus.
In regard to my pregnant patients, I simply discuss the benefits of the vaccination in pregnancy and advise them to weigh the risks of not getting the vaccination versus the risks of getting it.
I do know this—ACOG doesn’t recommend withholding the vaccine from pregnant patients and the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine agrees with this as well—two very reliable sources that I refer to in regards to evidence based medicine and guiding my practice.
We can’t guarantee long term outcomes, positive or negative, of this vaccination in pregnancy given it hasn’t been out long enough to provide appropriate research and data. However, you must think about the alternative: getting COVID. Especially pregnant women and those compounded with other comorbidities such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and other immunosuppressive disorders that have proven in regular society to be associated with a worse prognosis.
Now don’t get me wrong, many of those diagnosed with COVID do survive and do well—but you aren’t guaranteed of that. So why not provide protection to yourself?
It can be be easy to be skeptical if you haven’t seen things firsthand: family not being able to see their family member in the hospital due to having COVID, a pregnant woman intubated living day to day wondering if she will be weaned or go to ECMO, watching a fetal tracing where at any moment you may have to deliver a preterm fetus. Fluid shifts, acidosis, abnormal labs, thrombosis, immobility, and the list goes on and on.
Since the vaccination has emerged, numbers have dropped and admissions are decreasing. There appears to be a sliver of hope that we have lost over the past year of returning to normalcy, although it will be a while to be where we once were.
I’m hoping the numbers will continue to decline, and we are on the upswing. However, there is still much to be done. After shared decision making and informed conversations, I will ultimately respect whatever decision one makes; however, I feel the numbers don’t lie and the drastic decrease in numbers recently have shown in addition to other precautionary measures, the vaccination has proven beneficial and made a huge difference in a short amount of time.
So mask up, distance, and get vaccinated—let’s all work to get back to back to a COVID free state; because this virus has already taken so much!
Stay safe!
—Dr Riley
Helpful information:
Our work statement in regards to the vaccination—I provide all my patients with this statement along with additional resources for education purposes:
“The COVID vaccine has been approved for persons 16 years and older. The vaccines were not tested in pregnant women and currently there are no clear recommendations for vaccinating these women. However, pregnant women are a high-risk group for COVID-19 as infection poses an increased risk of preterm birth, severe disease requiring ICU admission, and death compared to non-pregnant women in the same age group.
Both the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend pregnant and breastfeeding women have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The decision to vaccinate women who are pregnant, or breastfeeding should involve a discussion between a woman and her provider to access each woman’s individual risk. Based on the current information about COVID-19 infection in pregnancy and the new vaccine, women who have risk factors for severe infection such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, belong in an ethnic minority, and/or healthcare workers should be given the option to get the vaccine.
Women who are considering or undergoing assisted reproductive technology treatment should contact their fertility provider’s office for guidance regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.”
ACOG and SMFM stance on vaccine in pregnancy:
CDC recommendations on vaccine in pregnancy:
Comments