Anyone had the AZ vaccination while pregnant?

[wanderedlonelyasacloud]

I had my first vaccination in early April (AstraZeneca - a few days before they stopped younger people having the AZ one! Just my luck)

I was a bit unwell the next day but fine. I have my 2nd AZ jab booked for later this month but found out I was pregnant about a week and a half ago.

I had a call with the gynae clinic this morning (scheduled before I found out I was pregnant) and they are still recommending i have it. I've also looked up the guidelines on the NHS website and they are now also recommending pregnant women have the vaccination, and say that if you've already had AZ as your first one to have AZ again.

I don't know why but I'm really anxious about it. I'm very pro vaccine but it took us a long time to conceive so I'm a bit worried about it.

Has anyone else had the AZ jab while pregnant? I'll be around 8 weeks when I have my 2nd one.

The way I see it, if I didn't drop dead from the first one I'll likely be fine after the second.

Not PG with first jab but PG now and booked to have the second one imminently.

There is nothing in the vaccination that is inherently risky or dangerous to a foetus or pregnant woman and the risk of Covid in pregnancy and associated dangers are much higher in my opinion.

They aren't saying avoid AZ when pregnant because it's not safe, it's purely because the available data from the states where more than 90,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated is from a different brand of vaccine. There is nothing to indicate that AZ isn't safe for us.
That said I'd have preferred Pfizer etc just because they are avoiding AZ for younger people now but not allowed to mix and match so I'll take what I can get.

You can discuss with midwife - I don’t think they have enough firm data, but thinking through the various risks may help. There is also the timing of the vaccine that you can vary.

I had it at 22 and 30 weeks, again had the first before guidance was changed. There’s no reason why AZ should be a a problem, the reason for the advice is that the US have vaccinated thousands of women with Pfizer and moderna so that’s the evidence base we have. From the VITT point of view cases are much much smaller numbers after the second dose.
I’d suggest speaking to your midwife/consultant about it. There is some protection from one vaccine but two gives much more. You might want to ask them about timing of the second dose. It’s your decision, take the time you need and seek advice.

I had my first one whilst I was 4 weeks pregnant (but didn't know at that point I was pregnant) I've got my second one this morning.

My 12 week scan was yesterday and all was well with baby. So jab one didn't have any impact and I'm confident that jab 2 will be fine too. :)

Thanks everyone I definitely feel a bit better about it after reading your responses.

I now have my booking appointment with the midwife on friday so I will run it past her but I'm planning on keeping my appointment to get the jab.

@taenia and @sheffieldcoolingtowers congratulations to you both on your pregnancies!

@wanderedlonelyasacloud I am really worried about this too.. I had my 1st AZ before the rules changed and before I was pregnant.. I’m now 10 weeks and I am really unsure what to do.. my GP and midwife haven’t been helpful and just read the gov website 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was unwell after the 1st jab and I’m worried that will happen again.. but my 12 weeks gap finishes this weekend

It’s hard to know what to do for the best because if something goes wrong I’ll never forgive myself!

I was in the exact same position. I had my first vaccine just before the rules changed (I wasn’t pregnant at the time). I had my second one booked in which coincided with my 10 week mark. I got advice from the gp and my midwife. Both suggested getting the second jab in line with government advice. I was quite scared as not many pregnant women have had AZ so there’s not much data. As I’ve got bad nausea I was also scared that I’d be unwell after the jab which could be unsafe as I was extremely unwell after my first one (couldn’t get out of bed or eat for a couple of days) so gp suggested perhaps waiting till the 12 week mark to reduce the risk.

After speaking to the clinicians and a lot of research, I concluded that it would be best to take the jab to protect myself and the baby. The benefits outweigh the risks in my case so I rescheduled second jab for my 12 week date. To my surprise, I didn’t actually suffer any side effects this time round, not sure if my body is used to it now or my immune system was having a snooze! But I was completely fine this time and feel so much better for having it.

I was worried about this too. I have received a text to get my first shot, and I am 8 weeks today. The NHS doctor told me its fine, however, due to the lack of study of women receiving vaccine in the first trimester I have decided to wait. Also, I am from Eastern Europe, and they do not vaccine women unless you are in the second trimester. As far as I know, they also do not give pregnant women AZ due to the studies on blood clot. So I have decided to wait, especially with my history of miscarriage.