Pregnant and breastfeeding women authorized to be vaccinated

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women on Wednesday, strongly encouraging them to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Orientation follows a CDC analysis of existing safety data, finding no increased risk of adverse birth outcomes after women received at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. There is no evidence that either vaccine adversely affects fertility in men or women.

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According to CDC data, only about 23% of pregnant women have been vaccinated, about half the rate for the general population.

More than 147,000 vaccinated pregnant women are enrolled in a CDC study, resulting in more than 10,000 births so far. There is no evidence that vaccines (Covid-19 or otherwise) increase the risk to the fetus. Not getting vaccinated is a much more serious threat.

Pregnant women are three times more likely to develop serious illness with Covid-19, explained Dr Amelia Sutton, maternal and fetal medicine specialist at Novant Health. “Covid and pregnancy present an extraordinary risk,” she said on Friday during a press call. “There is no doubt that the vaccine should be offered and given to pregnant women. “

Getting the vaccine is safe at any stage of pregnancy, Sutton said, indicating that waiting until later is not recommended: babies who develop in the third trimester are particularly vulnerable to side effects caused by a mother’s reduced breathing capacity due to the way their lungs are developing.

“It is unprecedented the number of pregnant women who are on a ventilator right now,” she said. “The vast majority are not vaccinated.

Dr Navin Bhojwani, System Executive Physician, Novant Health Women & Children’s Health Institute, cited a University of California in San Francisco to study published on July 30, which shows that pregnant women who contract Covid-19 have a 60% higher risk of preterm delivery (before 32 weeks). The risk of preterm delivery was 160% higher for Covid-positive pregnant patients with hypertension, diabetes or obesity.

Premature births carry high risks of adverse effects on the health of infants.

Unvaccinated pregnant women and their unborn children are at much greater risk of a myriad of consequences, Bhojwani said.

Novant began universally testing pregnant patients at the height of the pandemic last spring and found around 3% were positive for Covid, he said. The rate fell below 1% this summer, Bhojwani said, but has since climbed back to 3%. “The 3% we are seeing now are much sicker than they were last year,” he said.

The greatest risk from Covid for the unborn child and infants is not from physically catching the virus themselves – if their mothers catch it, their chances of being born prematurely increase dramatically, which means that they do not have the chance to develop fully before birth.

Transmission from an HIV-positive mother to her baby is “rare or even non-existent,” Bhojwani said. For the record, Bhojwani said a colleague who had been vaccinated in her second and third trimesters had her infant assessed at six weeks of age – the newborn had Covid antibodies.

Several studies have already identified the presence of Covid-19 antibodies in breast milk. Research is underway to further strengthen this link.

Sutton said many pregnant patients expected clear and concise advice because they had been excluded from initial vaccine trials; healthcare professionals go to great lengths to make sure their patients know that it is safer to vaccinate than to abstain. She encourages hesitant pregnant women to consult their doctor rather than with their friends on the Internet.

“Our hope is that with these new recommendations, we can get more people vaccinated,” she said.

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