2nd Vaccination Anxiety - almost 12 weeks pregnant

[CharleeBear]

Hello, I watched Boris and the medical advisors last night and it's really worried me. I had my first vaccination back in March (Astra Z) before I became pregnant - I'm now almost 12 weeks and my scan is next week. I had decided to postpone my second vaccine until after the birth (end of Jan 2022!!) as I don't personally feel that enough research has been carried out with pregnant women and the vaccine - also as I had the Astra Z one (and had terrible side effects - this was before they banned it for my age group and said to have the other vaccines if pregnant, although they also say best not to mix the vaccine, unless you have bad side effects which I suppose I did!) I'm feeling terribly lost and vulnerable now not knowing if I should have my second one - now over 12 weeks since first dose and whether I risk mixing the vaccinations as I'm not keen on having the Astra Z with the bad side effects I suffered from - I'm so worried it may harm the baby if I have the second dose but I'm scared that we are in for another huge wave by the sounds of the announcement last night and I know most people have common sense but a lot don't when it comes to lifting restrictions. I'm 37 so they have said I am high risk for this pregnancy (my third baby). Has anyone had a mixture of vaccines? I have spoken to my Doctor who also said we are all guinea pigs and if I don't feel comfortable about having it I shouldn't have it - but as the rates are going up I'm now worried about catching it and the risks involved - I'd love to hear from anyone else who may have had to consider all these pros and cons. Thanks in advance!

I had AZ pre pregnancy too, same situation that it’s no longer recommended but I jumped the queue due to my asthma. However, I wanted the AZ as it is based on 30yr+ technology whereas none of the MRNA vaccines put forward previously have received approval prior to the covid ones. That made me feel more comfortable.

It is a very personal choice but I had my second dose at 10 weeks. With the rising cases, my health and the known risks of covid during pregnancy both my husband and I had a long chat and decided that taking the vaccine was the right choice.

I didn’t have a reaction to the first one but my DH was poorly for a week, he had no issues with the second dose. That seems to be most common.

I am in the same boat and feel so panicked by the rising cases and the government admitting we're in a 4th wave, and it's likely to get worse. It feels like they're abandoning all vulnerable people, including pregnant women. I had my first AZ nearly 12 weeks ago, a week or two before I fell pregnant. I have my first scan tomorrow. I've been researching and agonising. My midwife said definitely don't get the AZ jab because of the increased risk of clots in pregnancy and my GP said to get it because it would be worse if I caught Covid. The recently published Com-Cov study found no real issues with mixing AZ + Pfizer -- but of course pregnant women weren't included in the study. I am am leaning towards getting the Pfizer vaccine as my second dose, in a few weeks, if they'll let me. But I feel really upset and scared about it ...

Hi everyone, I think this is a worry everyone is having just now, it's such a worry and an unknown time which we could do without any added stress or anxiety. I am only a few weeks, found out very early, I have had my first jab but unsure what to do re second one also, it's a long until time until next year when I would be due and a long winter to face first, with rising cases I don't think anyone knows for sure what is best. We are all in this together ❤ sorry I can't offer any valuable advice but right now I swaying towards getting me second one after 12 weeks x

I had both my vaccines in the third trimester.
It's definitely worth getting it before baby arrives - especially since you will still be pregnant, and high risk, in September when kids go back to school and everyone is mixing again. This way baby will be born with some immunity too, and any side effects are going to be much easier to deal with when there isn't a newborn to care for.

Thank you for your messages! I spoke to my Doctor about this twice today - and we've already had a couple of previous chats about it - the latest he told me is the AZ jab is the same type that was used to vaccinate pregnant women against ebola and it worked very well. Just when I was all set to go for my Pfizer next week - I'm now thinking of sticking with AZ and hoping my second dose won't be as bad as the first - he said the way things are going this autumn/winter it is going to be horrendous so did say it's in my best interest to get the second dose - but towards the end of our chat he said if he was in my shoes he'd go for the pfizer for the second jab although he did warn mixing them has given people really bad side effects. But then he did say the pfizer was linked to heart problems in young adults (and quite a few people have had anaphylaxis with Pfizer) so I really feel I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't! Going to draw up a list of pros/cons and chat it over with my DH and hope I'm more sure what to do tomorrow when I can let all this sink in! Really not easy being pregnant at the moment! Think I will wait until I've had my first scan on Monday and in the second trimester and then make my choice.

I had booked both my jabs back in May before I found out I was pregnant. I had the first on the 11th June, again before I found out I was pregnant. I then had my first positive pregnancy test at the beginning of July. My next test wasn't booked until the beginning of September. Even though they kept texting me to say I could have my next one sooner, I decided that I wanted to wait until at least the first scan before I had the second. I had the scan booked for Monday and the jab for Friday. Everyone was telling me it was fine, and my midwife told me about a nhs website with research, etc, that I could look at. I was massively anxious, not wanting anything to happen, but I didn't want to get covid down the line and risk even more. But I can totally understand the dilemma. I had the jab yesterday, and I have massive muscle aches, and I'm not planning on doing much this weekend, but I made the right decision for myself.