Has anyone given birth after taking the Covid Vaccine?

[sky181]

I am 24 weeks pregnant and have been given an appointment to receive the Pfizer Vaccine this week. I live in an area where there is a surge in cases and I cannot work from home, although it is fairly easy to socially distance. I am struggling to decide whether to take it. I have seen first hand how devastating catching covid can be as my mum died of recently. However I am still worried about the long term effects on the baby. Has anyone given birth or know of anyone who has given birth after receiving the vaccine?

90000 pregnant women in USA have had it and many have given birth. Definitely safe.

In the USA they prioritised pregnant women for the vaccine because covid in pregnancy is bad. We should be doing too I think.

The RCOG have some good guidance on their website for pregnant/breastfeeding women. Whilst there's not enough data to be sure (this is the case for a vast majority of drugs/vaccines as it's unethical to actively test them on pregnant women), there is some advice for making the decision here: www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/2021-02-24-combined-info-sheet-and-decision-aid.pdf

Personally, the risks of catching COVID whilst pregnant far outweigh a vaccine to me - wish I hadn't already had my baby as I might have been able to get a vaccine sooner than I'm likely to now!

I had a baby recently and was told you can't have the vaccine while pregnant. I doubt I would have went for it if they did offer.

If you get COVID in the 3rd trimester you will be in serious trouble with your breathing. It is far, far safer to vaccinate than to risk having COVID. Listen to people who know - not the paranoid idiots who jump on any ridiculous conspiracy theory.

@Charlieiscool

If you get COVID in the 3rd trimester you will be in serious trouble with your breathing. It is far, far safer to vaccinate than to risk having COVID. Listen to people who know - not the paranoid idiots who jump on any ridiculous conspiracy theory.

I agree with this. I’m 35 weeks and I’d be fearful of getting a cold nevermind covid as my breathing is restricted due to the baby.

I’ve had the vaccination but I haven’t had my baby yet, I was 32 weeks when I had it. I’ve since had a scan (I’ve been having regular scans for a while for growth checks) and all looked fine. I did quite a lot of research before making my decision and I’m quite a cautious person.

I had the AZ around 35 weeks and have and absolutely perfect baby now.

I am really sorry for the loss of your Mum @sky181 💔
While you are right, we don't know the long terms effects of the vaccine on a baby, we can make some predictions. An mRNA vaccine like the Pfizer only contains a tiny piece of information (what the covid spike protein looks like) that your immune system will read and then you literally pee it out. You then hopefully start making antibodies. We know that the baby could have antibodies from birth too. So scientists cannot think of any way this process will negatively affect a baby long term -but scientists cannot make recommendations according to what they think, as much as their thoughts are informed and the result of decades of research and education. As PP mentioned, it's almost impossible to include pregnant women in clinical trials so there isn't a medicine or vaccine that anyone can tell you is 100% safe in pregnancy. We know from experience that a lot are but you'll find that health professionals always side on the err of caution.

Now, that we have somewhat investigated the potential of long term effects of an mRNA vaccine on the baby, let's turn our attention to the potential long term effects of COVID on mother and baby. Do we know anything about that? Not a whole lot, but there are worrying trends of premature births.
www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/severe-covid-19-pregnancy-associated-preterm-birth-other-complications

So, when it came the time for me to make a choice about accepting or rejecting the offer of the vaccine, it all came down to what risk I was NOT willing to take. And, for me, the potential risks of a vaccine are insignificant compared to the risk from a novel, proven to be fatal, nasty virus running rampant across the globe. That is of course just my opinion.
I wish you all the best! ❤️

Thanks for the advice. It's such a hard decision but I think I'm going to take it. I would never forgive myself if something happened because I didn't trust the science, and I couldn't put my family through that hell again.

@sky181 I’m 20 weeks pregnant and had my Pfizer jab on Saturday. I was worried about side effects, especially as I had covid last year. But apart from a sore arm, feeling hot and being a bit itchy have been fine! @eloiseislost has done a great job of explaining the thought process I also went through - I was unwell for 9 months last year and still have some ongoing issues from covid so my personal risk assessment definitely pushed me to getting vaccinated as soon as I could! Good luck and wishing you an uneventful rest of your pregnancy!

I’m jealous! I’m also 24 weeks but can’t get the Pfizer vaccine from GP and nhs website says I’m ineligible as I’m not old enough yet. I’m seeing my midwife this week so hoping she will be able to help me. I would definitely take it personally, I am a teacher and I don’t want to get covid, especially in the third tri as risks definitely go up and I have heard some scary stories. I feel like that risk is a lot higher than anything from the vaccine. Try to ignore the non science based conspiracy theories out there, of which there are many!

I have read that the booking website is being updated to make it easier for pregnant women to book and definitely get Pfizer.
It’s personal choice but as it’s likely to pass on some protection to the baby (as well as you) I’d be going for it.
As pp said, tens of thousands have had it in the US with no ill effects

I'm currently waiting for a call from my gp to book in my Pfizer vaccine!

I joined this group on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/433459851127376/?ref=share. A lot of ladies in here have been vaccinated and post about the labour and how they're babies are getting on. I've found it really helpful to get myself into the right mindset when considering the vaccine!

I hope everyone is well in their pregnancies. Can I ask everyone's opinion on me getting my vaccine at 16 weeks? Is this an ok time to be getting the vaccine. I know they say anytime is fine however I seem to see alot of people is like 20+ weeks but maybe this is just when they've been called up for it. TIA for any replies

@Melvin2021

I hope everyone is well in their pregnancies. Can I ask everyone's opinion on me getting my vaccine at 16 weeks? Is this an ok time to be getting the vaccine. I know they say anytime is fine however I seem to see alot of people is like 20+ weeks but maybe this is just when they've been called up for it. TIA for any replies

I got my first dose at 14 weeks which was as soon as I was invited. No problems other than a sore arm. I'm now 20 weeks & all is well

@Melvin2021 I only had mine at 20 weeks as it was as soon as I was able to! Got my second one tomorrow and looking forward to being fully vaxxed!

@Aozora13 that's fab! How long did you have to wait for your second? I'm definitely looking forward to being protected!

@Melvin2021 I was invited 5 weeks after my first one but had to delay it as had my whooping cough jab booked in and you have to leave at least a week between the 2. I was surprised it came so quickly as they’d said 12 weeks but happy to get it done! And had minimal side effects bar a sore arm last time.

Thats good to know! The midwife did mention about spreading the vaccines out! Great only a sore arm I'm hoping for the same!