5 weeks pregnant - should I have my 2nd AstraZenica Jab??

[Hopefull26]

Hey everyone. I'm in two minds about having my second AstraZenica vaccine this week, im aged 29 and this is my second pregnancy. I had gestational diabetes last time so I am classed as a higher risk.

I had my first jab back in March before I got pregnant and now I'm so worried of something happening to the baby as a result of having my second vaccine!

Called the gp and they said it's up to me! So not helpful

Just wondered what you would do if you were me? Or if anyone has been in the same situation and had their vaccine x

@hporter10 that was how I made my decision too. The facts were there about covid and unborn babies and that was enough for me to get the 2nd dose. Im 19+2 now and have my 20 week scan tomorrow. And by babies kicks everything is going well in there!

[quote Saoirse82]@hporter10 that was how I made my decision too. The facts were there about covid and unborn babies and that was enough for me to get the 2nd dose. Im 19+2 now and have my 20 week scan tomorrow. And by babies kicks everything is going well in there![/quote]
Oh how wonderful! I am so looking forward to feeling the baby kick! It will put my mind at ease more than anything! I get so paranoid with every little twinge! At least that way I will have actual evidence that everything is most likely okay! I really struggle! Everyday I feel like I'm overthinking another symptom. I got a bug bite the other day and the way it looked I was convinced I had blood poisoning! Then I got a pain in my leg and was thinking all day it was a blood clot! I know it's silly and I do overthink everything normally but I just feel the only time I am not worrying is when I am having a scan done and can see the little bean wiggling around!

Just want to say thanks for this thread - I've got my second AZ this morning and I've been wobbling for a couple of weeks. When I went to have my second dose two weeks ago, the pharmacist refused to give it to me because I was pregnant. Back in mid March when I had my first, I didn't know I was....

So pharmacist refused. My GP cousin concurred with him (over text at the vaccination centre). I left and made an appointment with my own GP for ten days later (last Friday). He called me, made a few enquiries of his own and called me back to say "I am prepared to give it to you today". Sadly I couldn't get to the surgery, so I rebooked to attend at the vaccination centre this morning. My GP cousin has since also made further enquiries and has now said to have it - that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

I'm 17w3. I just hope I don't bottle out when I get there. This thread has been very reassuring so thank you.

Same situation. Had first jab in March before I was pregnant. I’m now 17 weeks and haven’t had my second one. I understand the pros but the fact no healthcare professional is telling me that having it is better than potentially catching COVID isn't filling me with confidence, I’m just told it’s up
to me. The vaccine will go straight into the placenta and there obviously hasn’t been enough tests. I’m still at a loss with what to do. Sorry not much help!

Hi everyone I'm due to have my second dose AZ this morning and having a bit of a last minute freakout so I came back here to try to reassure myself I've made the right decision! I'm 16+4 today and had a scan last week which showed baby was fine and very active, but I haven't felt him yet and I think I might feel better if I was feeling him move, as now I won't know if he's ok after the vaccine until the 20w scan.

Any last minute words of wisdom much appreciated!!

@AlbiMix

Hi everyone I'm due to have my second dose AZ this morning and having a bit of a last minute freakout so I came back here to try to reassure myself I've made the right decision! I'm 16+4 today and had a scan last week which showed baby was fine and very active, but I haven't felt him yet and I think I might feel better if I was feeling him move, as now I won't know if he's ok after the vaccine until the 20w scan.

Any last minute words of wisdom much appreciated!!

Hi did you get on ok? I had absolutely zero side effects from my second despite having a mini freak out like you yesterday. How are you feeling?

@BRDouble

Same situation. Had first jab in March before I was pregnant. I’m now 17 weeks and haven’t had my second one. I understand the pros but the fact no healthcare professional is telling me that having it is better than potentially catching COVID isn't filling me with confidence, I’m just told it’s up to me. The vaccine will go straight into the placenta and there obviously hasn’t been enough tests. I’m still at a loss with what to do. Sorry not much help!

As PP have said, the benefits of getting the second dose outweigh the risks in my mind - I had my fair share of concerns but I felt that getting Covid during pregnancy without the second would / could have far worse ramifications than getting it when double jabbed.

I found out I was pregnant on a Thursday, and my second jab was scheduled for Friday.
I had Pfizer and honestly, second shot was maybe easier the the first. My shoulder got REALLY sore, almost like a muscle spasm, and I had a little headache. But my energy was pretty good.

I was about 5 weeks and a few days then. For what it’s worth, I just did my ten week scan and baby is looking as it should.

Personally, I was very motivated to get my shot. We have the delta variant here in the US, and I wanted as much protection as possible. There were a lot of news stories here about young, otherwise healthy pregnant women getting COVID and having bad outcomes. Especially with going into hospital/lab settings for the next few months, I just wanted to reduce risk as much as I could.

@MahMahMahMahCorona Totally understand your point but I’m concerned about the effects on an unborn baby, Astra Zeneca has not done any of those sorts of tests yet hence professionals saying the choice is yours yet they recommend Pfizer for pregnant women. If I’d have had Pfizer first then I would get the second one done now. Difficult!

I did. It was absolutely fine; and I had a strong reaction to the first dose before I was pregnant. I’m glad I’m vaccinated.

@TakeYourFinalPosition Hiya. Did you have Astra Zeneca and your new baby is fine?

@MahMahMahMahCorona thanks for checking in, it was fine! Like most other people on this thread I had no side effects except a sore arm, so much better than the first time and I'm relieved not to have had a fever. Of course I have no idea if the baby has been affected, unfortunately I won't know until the 20w scan in a couple of weeks. Still not seeing or feeling him which is pretty nerve wracking.

@BRDouble earlier on this thread there are women who have posted that they had their second AZ jab and later had scans that showed the baby was ok, so in that sense some people have reported back positively.

As well as what PP have said about risk/benefit of getting the vaccine, I also considered the fact that other vaccines, like flu and whooping cough, are recommended in pregnancy. My limited understanding is that there don't seem to be particular reasons that medics and researchers are concerned about AZ negatively affecting a pregnancy any more than other vaccines, the caution is just because Pfizer has been used in the US for pregnant women so there's data that's lacking for AZ. I really hope someone is collating our data for those of us who have had AZ - does anyone know?

@AlbiMix I feel the same: 20 week scan in ten days (next Weds) and whilst I know I've got an anterior placenta which is buffering the movements, I would dearly love to feel baby a little more. This is my third too so according to the entire Internet (!!) I should be feeling baby by now, although there are ten years between my youngest and this little one... keep me posted!

@BRDouble I had AZ, and I've had two scans since and baby is growing perfectly and all seems well. No side effects for me, either.

@AlbiMix There are two schemes that are collating information on AZ in pregnancy - sadly they don't seem to be very commonly known, and my doctor only found out after I mentioned a Facebook ad that I'd got about one... I suspect people would feel a lot more reassured if everyone who has had either jab in the UK could report how it's gone for them, too. The lack of data makes it feel a lot more daunting.

I'm 17+1 today and haven't felt baby yet - my scan is at the start of August, but I've had a private one a few weeks after the jab to check in on things, and all was well. It's almost mindblowing that baby can be moving so much, and I can't feel a thing!

Ah @MahMahMahMahCorona it could well just be your anterior placenta as I have heard repeatedly that this does really make a difference in how much you can feel. Let us know how the scan goes for you! This is my first but I have a posterior placenta and also he seems to have been wriggling around incessantly at both scans I've had (dating and gender) so the sonographer said I should feel him a lot and soon, hence my concern!

Thank you @TakeYourFinalPosition do you know the names of them? I'd like to contribute if I can. And totally with you about the movement, at the last scan he wouldn't sit still and yet I felt nothing. Also have had a practically symptomless pregnancy so seeing him on scans is pretty surreal!

@TakeYourFinalPosition I would be interested in knowing the names of the studies like @AlbiMix too - having had the first AZ when I had no idea I was even pregnant and really suffering from some side effects, to having had absolutely no issue with the second, it would be helpful. I have just reminded myself that I have had three scans since the first jab mid-March when I was according to my dates just three weeks pg: private (9w), EPU (bleed) (10w) and the 12w scan. I've also heard baby twice - once at 14w and once at 16w. Considering the movements back then, I can't wait to see how this little pomegranate is coming along.

Nice to see everyone talking about it more. I’m 10 weeks now and no issues :) seen baby move on the screen. I’m not remotely worried anymore.

I was in that situation too and waited so long for my second as I wanted pfizer but no one would agree. Had second a week ago so far ok

Hi everyone, I just wanted to report back after my latest scan which was the first since I had the vaccine. Baby was fine :) hopefully vaccine won't have affected him negatively.

Had 1 at 3 weeks and number 2 at 16 weeks

Now 23 weeks :)

Hi @Hopefull26 @AlbiMix @thecapitalsunited. Did you go for 2nd AZ jab in the end? I’m in same boat as you so am just curious. I’m close to booking it based on most current info from RCOG. Thanks.

Hi @AlbiMix ignore my question I see later in trail you said you had it. 👍🏻😃

@Zulu933 I did go for it. I didn’t have any side effects and we’ve been able to see baby at an 8 week private scan and the NHS 12 week scan. I’m 15 weeks now and everything has been going well so far. No regrets at all about getting my second AZ jab.

@thecapitalsunited amazing! Good on you and thanks so much for replying and sharing the info. 😀

Hey @Zulu933 just to echo @thecapitalsunited I'm also glad I had the second AZ jab, feel more confident having had it. I had no side effects that time, baby looked healthy at 20w scan, and can now feel him wriggling away so hoping he's doing alright in there. I was extra anxious due to previous miscarriage but currently still no regrets about getting my second dose.