To think pregnant women should get the vaccine

[HopefulRose]

This is controversial but had a lively debate with a family member about this today. I’m currently pregnant and double jabbed and hopeful I can get my booster soon. I’ve been quite surprised and tbh annoyed at the number of pregnant women refusing to get the vaccine.

Pregnant women who are unvaccinated end up getting much more sick from Covid than those who have the vaccines. And those who are getting ill end up taking up resources in hospitals which causes a knock on effect to the care of other pregnant women who are vaccinated. A friend recently was supposed to have a home birth but had to go into hospital because there weren’t enough midwives due to this very problem.

Perhaps it’s a failure on the government/ DHSC’s behalf for not communicating this strongly enough. I understand if there are genuine concerns but most of the people I’ve spoken to who don’t want the vaccine don’t appear to be interested in the medical or logical arguments and their decisions come from ‘feeling’ (or Facebook) rather than reasoning.

Pregnant also- have had booster too.
I am heartily praised for this at each antenatal appointment!
Risks of covid in late pregnancy far outweigh risks of jab.
However, I think it’s a massive public health failure that pregnant women have not been reassured of the safety of the jab.

You can think whatever you like. You're not unreasonable for having your own feelings on the matter.

Personally I would never have the vaccination whilst pregnant because there's no long term data on effects on the baby.

Its interesting as a friend of mine is 8 months pregnant. She had her first jab which was AZ and they refused to give her a second in early pregnancy and she keeps being advised to wait by nurses and midwives

@Jobegg agreed - unless every pregnant woman listens to Radio 4 I’ve seen v little in the way of positive advertising or campaigns to convince pregnant women to have the jabs. And there has been no communication at all re boosters, I’ve had to pester my surgery about this and no one seemed to know what the protocol was

I think either is right, the same as everything in pregnancy. You decide which risks you will and won’t take when it comes to your unborn baby’s life. I don’t think it’s up to anyone else to judge when no one has seen 10 years into the future to be able to look back with all of the answers.

I was pregnant and the advice was originally not to get the vaccine, then it changed to say we should get it so I think that’s what initially made people doubtful. My age category was only invited for their first vaccine the month before my baby was due and by that point I was working from home and not seeing anyone (because I was being extremely careful). I decided for the sake of a few weeks when I wasn’t going inside anywhere to be able to catch it that I wouldn’t get the vaccine until he was born. For me at the time this was the right decision and everything worked out well so Im glad that’s what I did. If I was much earlier on in my pregnancy it might have been different and I think based on what job you do, it also might be different. Each to their own I say. Double jabbed now

YABU

I'm double jabbed and just got my booster shot BUT if I was pregnant I honestly don't know if I would get the vaccine.

It's way too new and, in my opinion, seems very rushed.

Pregnant women are in an Impossible position. Remember it wasn't that long ago women were told a pill that stopped morning sickness was safe, then hundreds (maybe thousands??) Of babies were born without limbs.

I don't envy any women having yo make this decision right now. You sound very judgemental

@Divorced2kids

Its interesting as a friend of mine is 8 months pregnant. She had her first jab which was AZ and they refused to give her a second in early pregnancy and she keeps being advised to wait by nurses and midwives

That’s poor advice from them… Pfizer or moderna preferred in pregnancy- she should be offered one of them

It's way too new and, in my opinion, seems very rushed.

Some of those worries addressed here:

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-myth-versus-fact

I have a 6 month old and I work in a&e - I worked throughout my pregnancy despite COVID.

At 6 months pregnant I was told that I definitely should NOT get the vaccine as it hasn't been tested properly .... then at 8 months pregnant told I definitely SHOULD get the vaccine . You can't blame people for being cautious when the information they are being given changes so quickly. After many miscarriages there was no way I was going to put anything in my body that I wasn't 100% sure of.

I'm still breastfeeding so still haven't had the vaccine. I will have it before I return to work. I have already had COVID .

YANBU. All the available evidence indicates a very good safety profile for the vaccines in pregnancy, and significant risks associated with COVID infection in pregnancy.

The amount of misinformation being circulated is appalling and it is heartbreaking to watch so many people make decisions which place themselves and their babies at risk because they've been told inaccurate things, and then to watch the consequences of those decisions.

When the vaccines were first available, I waited a little while until there was enough real world data for me to feel confident - that data came through very quickly and was very reassuring. I understand people wanting to be careful. But there is now lots of evidence of the vaccines having favourable safety profiles, and we know that pregnancy increases risks of complications and poor outcomes from COVID. I really think there needs to be a more concerted effort to encourage people in at-risk groups to get vaccinated and that there should be consequences for the groups spreading lies about potentially lifesaving healthcare.

👍

A friend recently was supposed to have a home birth but had to go into hospital because there weren’t enough midwives due to this very problem.

But choosing a home birth is also a potentially risky option that could divert resources away from others - why is that more valid than choosing not to get vaccinated?

I never got my vaccine while pregnant and waited until after I had my baby in May this year.

Originally the advice was not to get the vaccine if ttc or pregnant, then it was changed to it is safe - you can't blame people for being cautious.

It's a new vaccine, there is no long term data to guarantee it's safe in pregnancy.
It wasn't that long ago that people were given medicine for morning sickness that they were told was safe but had devastating effects.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I do personally think it's ignorant to not even try to understand why people are hesitant. It wasn't a risk I was willing to take when it took me years to conceive my son!

It wasn't that long ago that people were given medicine for morning sickness that they were told was safe but had devastating effects.

To be fair, it was actually a good 60 years ago.

@milkyaqua still not that long in the grand scheme of things

It was a terrible thing, but in part is why there are far more rigorous drug trials, etc, now; plus science and medicine have come so far in the last couple of decades alone.

YANBU to have had your own jabs.

YABU to be ‘annoyed’ that some other pregnant women haven’t had theirs. It’s none of your business what choices other women make in respect of the health of themselves and their child.

YANBU @HopefulRose. Back in September, our health trust issued a statement urging pregnant women to get the vaccine due to the amount of pregnant women having to be induced early because of Covid.

Pregnancy puts a lot of strain on the lungs, add a virus that attacks the lungs and it's a recipe for disaster.

YABU
It can be a frightening decision to have a jab when pregnant (or to do a whole host of other things) and perhaps have some empathy for those who are too scared to have it in case they harm their baby.

And I say that as a double jabbed person, with the booster booked and having had my two 12-15s jabbed (which again, I was hesitant about but cracked on and hoped to God it would be OK).

@milkyaqua

It was a terrible thing, but in part is why there are far more rigorous drug trials, etc, now; plus science and medicine have come so far in the last couple of decades alone.

Yes. And the vaccine hasn’t been rigorously tested in pregnant women yet. There is some real world data but results from trials are pending.

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04754594

@SingItToWinIt

You can think whatever you like. You're not unreasonable for having your own feelings on the matter.

Personally I would never have the vaccination whilst pregnant because there's no long term data on effects on the baby.

This.

You don't know that is safe. They thought thalidomide was safe and they have it to pregnant women .. And it cause genetic defects. Having a vaccine that is untested long term, a vaccine that the government states (boldy on their website) that they can not be sued if it causes death or genetic defects isn't safe. It's unfortunate that your friend couldn't have the birth she wanted but that is often the case regardless of the vaccine. Every mother has the right to protect their baby in the way that they see fit be it vaccinated or not

Spelling mistakes but you get the point

They’re not avoiding getting vaccinated simply to annoy you OP, they do have legitimate concerns about the long term effects of the vaccine. And whatever any scientist, politician, viral expert or Facebook expert will state, there isn’t any long term data because the vaccines simply haven’t been around long enough to establish IF or what the long term effects may be. I feel they’re well within their rights to err on the side of caution. I’m pro vaccination but I can honestly say I don’t know how I’d feel if I had to make the decision while pregnant.

Thing with Covid, it’s like Russian roulette. Old, young, healthy, ill, vaccinated or unvaccinated - it really doesn’t seem to have much consistency with who succumbs to it and who breezes through the illness unfortunately.

And yea. I know in the uk since the vaccination rates increased, the death rates seemed to decline, however was that because you already had sadly lost so many already to Covid? Other places worldwide (example where I live) who have only had the outbreaks after the vaccination became available, our data is showing it’s still pretty much 50-50 between the vaccinated and unvaccinated who are hospitalised. Fortunately no deaths. (Not asking for this to be answered btw and I know I’ve digressed, just thinking out loud). Sorry, back to it!

In your last paragraph you say you understand if there are genuine concerns. You don’t sound very understanding though.
I can completely understand why pregnant women are scared. Particularly those that might have had several previous losses or certain medical histories. The flu jab has been around for years and has been proven to have no long term affects in babies. These mRNA vaccines have been here for a year and there are no studies on long term affects of babies (obviously). The science would suggest that there won’t be long term affects due to the way the vaccines work. But then why did they tell pregnant women NOT to take the vaccine only a few months ago if they knew the science of them?
Too many mixed messages when all pregnant women are trying to do is the right thing for their unborn child in the worst situation.

I was strongly encouraged to get the vaccine when I was pregnant 3m ago . There is a massive campaign to educate women so not sure where you've been that you're saying the government isn't doing enough to encourage vaccine take up.