I think you have to ask yourself what happens if it doesn’t happen straight away. It took us 10 months to get pregnant and that’s considered normal and healthy. If you are thinking you won’t have the vaccine when TTC then you also might not want the vaccine if breastfeeding. So if you are trying for 10 months before getting pregnant, then pregnant for 9 months, potentially breastfeeding for another 6 months, it’s not out of the bounds of possibility that you’ll be looking at not getting vaccinated for 2 years, maybe even longer. How do you feel about socialising and getting back to normal without the vaccine in those two years?
I’d probably have had the vaccine while TTC for what it’s worth. I’m pregnant now and I’ve now got to make the decision about having the vaccine during pregnancy. As the vaccine is quite new and we’ve not been called up, my family are really understanding about why I want to be cautious still. They know I’m undecided on the vaccine and they are prepared to self isolate if they see me. They aren’t pressuring me to attend family events, my cousin is having an engagement party and I’m not comfortable going and everyone has just said that’s fair enough. I’m not sure in two years they would still be so patient to be cautious around me.
I work from home, as does DH and it would be relatively easy to avoid people for 6 months but by getting pregnant I’ve increased my risk to exposure significantly. I’ve been to the GP for bloods, tomorrow is my second 12 week scan (I was behind on the original date), my midwife appointment was in person and they’re hoping to get more sessions back to face to face. I’ve not had to go for early scans with the early pregnancy assessment unit and I’ve still had four medical appointments in the first trimester. The last time I was at the GPs was 4 years ago and in 7 weeks I’ve had four appointments, two at hospital. The appointments get more frequent as you get through your pregnancy. Obviously the hospital is practicing covid measures but it’s a site where there will be COVID and a lot of people on the site.
My anxiety around catching covid is a lot higher now I’m pregnant. Even if I just get mild symptoms, I don’t want those mild symptoms whilst feeling so bad from pregnancy. There are quite a few negative impacts of catching covid during pregnancy too. If I don’t get the vaccine it’s because I can quite easily hide myself away until the end of the year or just socialise outside with people. I’m leaning towards getting it though because the known side effects of covid in pregnancy are quite scary.