Pregnant / breastfeeding and considering vaccination?

[Newyearsameoldshite]

I'm currently breastfeeding my toddler and 8 weeks pregnant. I work in the NHS in an acute London hospital although I'm not strictly frontline - I have limited contact with patients but do spend large parts of each day in close proximity with clinical staff who treat both COVID and non-COVID patients.

I've had a number of opportunities to have a vaccine over the past couple of weeks, usually very last minute when reconstituted medication is nearing the expiry time and so slots are offered out to all staff.

I'm finding it really hard to make the decision about whether to accept the vaccine or not. Non-live vaccines are usually safe in pregnancy and so it seems unlikely that the COVID vaccine would harm the baby, but without any data or evidence there's always the potential that it could. I'm not facing COVID patients on a daily basis so my risk isn't super high, but I'm working in a hospital surrounded by people who are, in one of the parts of the country with the highest incidence of cases.

I read a really great thread on Twitter by a foetal medicine specialist who is also pregnant which makes some good points, but I wanted to ask the good people of Mumsnet if any of you have gone ahead and taken the plunge while pregnant? What was your reasoning? Are you also finding it hard to decide?

twitter.com/jackie_parchem

Ok, I'm giving this a hopeful bump because I still can't make my mind up! New advice is that it's safe for breastfeeding but still no clearer on pregnancy and I can't decide what to do. Give me your wisdom Mumsnet!

I'm really not sure; I'm bf my toddler and will be getting one when I'm offered. See if @littleDrVic on twitter has anything retweeted or anyone she follows. I know she's a bfing advocate and a dr (consultant?) up north. She may also know if bfing nhs staff in a similar situation.

Sorry she's @LittleDoctorVic

One professor's view:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/covid-19-do-the-vaccines-stop-transmission-how-can-i-volunteer-to-help-your-questions-answered-12183087

Has your workplace completed a risk assessment? Could you work from home at all?

Can only give you my opinion based on absolutely nothing! I'm pregnant and now feel happy to have it when I'm breastfeeding (which I wasn't sure about before) but still wouldn't have it when pregnant. I think the advice at the moment is to only take it in pregnancy if you have high risk factors - so I guess your decision needs to be if your job counts as that if you are otherwise healthy.

I'm sure it's absolutely fine, and I'm 100% pro-vaxxer! But I just still wouldn't for that tiny 'what if?' for my unborn child. I'm more than happy to take any tiny tiny amount of 'what if' for this vaccine for myself.

@wingsoverchaos thanks for the link - I'll have a look and see if they offer any advice. It's so hard with no actual evidence either way

@littlegungho I haven't had a workplace assessment yet but I do these all the time in my role and have assessed many other pregnant women. The advice is that up to 28 weeks you can continue to work in a non-patient facing role, which I do. I doubt my manager would offer any advice on whether to take the vaccine or not. I'm leaning towards taking it but there's always that 'what if' in the back of my mind.

@ohcomeallyechristmas you've totally hit the nail on the head, it's the 'what if'. And if I was in a high risk role it would make the decision easier somehow. So today I was in our A&E department meeting with a group of staff who spend all day in close patient contact although I don't personally. Does that count as high risk? God knows

Also total name change fail, oops!

Breastfeeding is best for babies but breastfeeding after having a coronavirus vaccine has not been tested. If you declare you are breastfeeding then you will not be given the vaccine therefore the only way to be vaccinated whilst breastfeeding is to keep quiet and ignore expert advice. Why would anyone risk the possible risk to their babies health by ignoring expert advice, by effectively lying and indicating you were not putting your baby at risk in order to get an ill advised vaccine?

This is totally irresponsible!

@Ohcomeallyechristmas

Can only give you my opinion based on absolutely nothing! I'm pregnant and now feel happy to have it when I'm breastfeeding (which I wasn't sure about before) but still wouldn't have it when pregnant. I think the advice at the moment is to only take it in pregnancy if you have high risk factors - so I guess your decision needs to be if your job counts as that if you are otherwise healthy.

I'm sure it's absolutely fine, and I'm 100% pro-vaxxer! But I just still wouldn't for that tiny 'what if?' for my unborn child. I'm more than happy to take any tiny tiny amount of 'what if' for this vaccine for myself.

The whole reason why you would not be vaccinated whilst breastfeeding unless you effectively lied and pretended you weren't is because experts don't know what the risk is because it hasn't been tested. It could be tiny, it could be huge. The consequences also could be tiny or huge. The experts would not be "happy" for you to take that risk. Why would you be prepared to go against expert advice and let your baby take an ill advised risk.

Make your choice. Get vaccinated and don't breastfeed. Or breastfeed and don't get vaccinated until your baby has been weaned.

@billie Actually the advice is now that it's completely fine to have the vaccination while breastfeeding, it's only in pregnancy where the advice is to make a personal decision. We're all just trying to do the right thing and your response is unhelpful.

www.rcm.org.uk/media/4605/covid-vaccine-31-december-v2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3WCzYPgXFuQvhyyXJRuk20xVJWWoUTumIC9vOQYFB8WN--rGz1WBKRr-s

Latest guidance from royal college of midwives . Just in case helps x

@Billie18 for your info too ( re changes to vaccine advice re breastfeeding/pregnancy)
Obviously it still a very personal choice but the guidance has changed recently.

I’m not pregnant but I am breastfeeding my toddler albeit once a day & ive been trying to decide for a week.
I am patient facing & we are seeing more covid positive patients now, I’m booked in tomorrow & I feel I will have it.

The risk from the vaccine seems so small compared to if I caught covid or bought covid home. Although I know I can still transmit it.

To be honest I think they may decline me having it more based on my allergies rather than actually breastfeeding.

I’ve applied to enter a breastfeeding study but they’ve been had a lot of response.

I’m 24 weeks and have my risk assessment this week. I’m undecided on what to do. They have offered me non patient facing at 28 weeks but I will be based in an area with community staff dropping in and out who may or may not have been in contact with Covid. Being community rather than inpatient none of our patients are routinely tested.
Part of me thinks I might as well have the vaccine and continue to work as normal if I’m at risk anyway, and the other part thinks why risk it as I’d be forever questioning whether my decision was to blame for any problems with the baby.
I just don’t know what to do!

I'm breastfeeding, work in health care and won't be having the vaccine until I finish or there is research to say it is safe. There's currently nothing to say it is unsafe or safe due to it being seemed unetheical to test on BF or pregnant women.

@Terrhins what is the study if you don’t mind me asking? Googled but can’t see anything! Thanks

Well, Billie, perhaps you could educate yourself before spewing bile on others Hate this sort of comments.

OP. FWIW, I am pregnant too (after 3 mcs), currently 9+2. If I was offered the vaccine, I'd have it, however I'm not in any group that might be offered it any time soon. I would have it in pregnancy because IMO benefits outweigh the risks. I will have it as soon as I can, quite possibly when I'm BF assuming this pregnancy goes well and I successfully BF. If I was working for the NHS, I'd 100% have it. But of course it is a personal choice. Best of luck with your pregnancy

@TeaTimeReader it’s an Imperial London study,
I emailed [email protected]

I’ve only had a basic reply back so far but I will express samples anyway until I get a reply incase they are useful.

Thank you @Terrhins

@Terrhins

I’m not pregnant but I am breastfeeding my toddler albeit once a day & ive been trying to decide for a week. I am patient facing & we are seeing more covid positive patients now, I’m booked in tomorrow & I feel I will have it.

The risk from the vaccine seems so small compared to if I caught covid or bought covid home. Although I know I can still transmit it.

To be honest I think they may decline me having it more based on my allergies rather than actually breastfeeding.

I’ve applied to enter a breastfeeding study but they’ve been had a lot of response.

If I was patient facing I'd 100% go for it, especially if I was only breastfeeding and not also pregnant. I think I'm leaning towards your risk assessment too, surely the vaccine has got to be safer than actually catching COVID. It's feeling pretty inevitable at the moment tbh.

@SingingWaffleDoggy

I’m 24 weeks and have my risk assessment this week. I’m undecided on what to do. They have offered me non patient facing at 28 weeks but I will be based in an area with community staff dropping in and out who may or may not have been in contact with Covid. Being community rather than inpatient none of our patients are routinely tested. Part of me thinks I might as well have the vaccine and continue to work as normal if I’m at risk anyway, and the other part thinks why risk it as I’d be forever questioning whether my decision was to blame for any problems with the baby. I just don’t know what to do!

Are you not being advised to work from home from 28 weeks? My Trust is being pretty strict on this, they're actually giving people the option to work from home earlier if they want to. I don't think I could face being stuck in the house for the next 6 months but by 28 weeks I suppose the risk is greater and so you just have to suck it up. I'm not sure what difference having tbe vaccine makes to needing to work from home though, that's an interesting point I hadn't considered.

@PurplePansy05

Well, Billie, perhaps you could educate yourself before spewing bile on others Hate this sort of comments.

OP. FWIW, I am pregnant too (after 3 mcs), currently 9+2. If I was offered the vaccine, I'd have it, however I'm not in any group that might be offered it any time soon. I would have it in pregnancy because IMO benefits outweigh the risks. I will have it as soon as I can, quite possibly when I'm BF assuming this pregnancy goes well and I successfully BF. If I was working for the NHS, I'd 100% have it. But of course it is a personal choice. Best of luck with your pregnancy

I'm definitely leaning more towards the benefits outweighing the risks - had almost made my mind up to just go for it and then had my booking appointment earlier and the midwife said that all the pregnant midwives she knows are waiting until after their babies are born! So if they don't want it then what does that mean?!

Sorry to hear about your miscarriages, hoping that all goes well with this pregnancy although can imagine it must be a scary time, even more than it usually is anyway.

@Newyearsameoldshite I had it today, just have a sore arm.
I said I was breastfeeding & they said that was fine & had guidance saying so however I think for pregnancy the advice was no for my trust.

The midwives & student ones are having the jab at my hospital but these ones aren’t pregnant.

I think some people just have want to see more evidence.