Covid jab - to have or not to have?!

[K821]

I'm 27 weeks and so far have held off getting the covid jab purely out of worry for the baby. I fully intend to get it after baby is here, I'm no conspiracy theorist or "non believer" so don't need lectures as to why it's needed etc.
In my mind I don't want to do anything that's not 100000% necessary whilst pregnant, whether it's believed there is a risk or not (I just wonder how we be entirely sure of long term effects yet)

Just looking of opinions of those who have had it while pregnant, the affects etc, and those who haven't and have been unwell (please no horror stories!)
Still trying to weigh up my options as to which route poses less risk.

TIA! 😘 x

@Confused521 I totally respect your choice and I've had it.

[quote firstimemamma]@Confused521 I totally respect your choice and I've had it. [/quote]
Thank you ❤

I got my first jab the day it became available to my age group when I was 33 weeks pregnant. My view was that all the experts highly recommended getting it so who was I to know better than them? At least then I’d followed the best advice there was to protect my baby. I also didn’t fancy getting Covid whilst looking after a newborn baby.

I gave birth in June, I did not have the jab whilst pregnant.

I have had my first jab since and due the second at the end of the month
Didn't have any side effects other than a sore arm for the first one.

I wouldn't call @countbackfromten's account a "horror story". It's just reality. But yeah, I guess it's your choice if you want to expose yourself to that. Not sure many rational people would understand it, but crack on.

OP, I'm pregnant and have had both jabs. No ill effects, felt ropey after the second but fine within a couple of days. Baby was fine on scans I've had since.

Please do consider getting the jab, there is no genuine medical reason not to.

I have four main points regarding this thread.

1. Firstly, a lot of people here are saying something along the lines of it being stupidity not to get it, yet entire governments of many countries are still not recommending the vaccine during pregnancy (including the one where I currently live), are they all stupid too?

2. A lot of people on this thread are saying its safe during pregnancy, when the simple fact is, this can not be said with any guarantee (and is clearly backed up by not all countries yet recommending it). Yes, studies from the US have shown there's no link between having the vaccine and miscarriage, but there is simply no further conclusive studies on any other ways the baby could be affected long term by having this still-experimental vaccine, because it is still too early.

3. My third point, which kinda follows on from my second point, is that I have personally, and I bet many of the others who have been vaccinated have too, stopped using standard over-the-counter creams/tablets because the leaflets say they haven't been tested during pregnancy or breastfeeding. So why would I then agree to be injected with an experimental vaccine thats still in phase 3 trials and hasn't even been fully tested on non-pregnant people?

4. My final point is that there are a lot of people saying that the number of pregnant people in intensive care is going up ... while this is true, the numbers are still tiny. In March 2021, 17 pregnant people went into intensive care, in June there was 22. If we say that there was a conservative guestimate of 500 pregnant people admitted to ICU in the last 9 months, then out of 606,500 people currently pregnant in the UK, thats only 0.08% chance of needing intensive care treatment. There was also a study that came out recently detailing how pregnant woman are admitted to hospital with much lower thresholds of symptoms just out of an abundance of caution, and that pregnant women's stays in hospital are much shorter than non-pregnant women because of this.

I am not an anti-vaxxer, as the media would like everyone to believe, I've had all my well-established recommended vaccines, and I completely agree its everyones individual choice based on their personal risk assessment whether they have it or not. But I'm personally not happy being a guinea pig, or agreeing to my unborn baby being a guinea pig, by injecting an experimental substance into my body. And I think people should respect that decision without claiming its stupidity.

@minatrina Exactly right. I really encourage those with concerns of long terms effects to really research into the science of mRNA vaccines. The worst effect that vaccine could have, is to not work. There is absolutely zero biological plausibility that these vaccines will have any long term effect. The way science works in our society is providing hard cut evidence from long standing trials, explaining the science isn’t enough, which is fair but that’s the only reason as to why we are not currently able to conclude that the vaccine is safe. A lot of research has and will continue to be done to continually reassure people it is safe, but anyone who has taken the time to read up on the mechanisms of the vaccine and read the research papers on this know it’s a no brainier.

Use of the term guinea pig is now irrelevant. as the covid vaccine is no longer experimental, it’s FDA approved. It is what you would call a well established recommended vaccine.

There are many other chemicals you will use in everyday items that are less regulated and less tested than the covid vaccine.

@jojojo82

I have four main points regarding this thread.

1. Firstly, a lot of people here are saying something along the lines of it being stupidity not to get it, yet entire governments of many countries are still not recommending the vaccine during pregnancy (including the one where I currently live), are they all stupid too?

2. A lot of people on this thread are saying its safe during pregnancy, when the simple fact is, this can not be said with any guarantee (and is clearly backed up by not all countries yet recommending it). Yes, studies from the US have shown there's no link between having the vaccine and miscarriage, but there is simply no further conclusive studies on any other ways the baby could be affected long term by having this still-experimental vaccine, because it is still too early.

3. My third point, which kinda follows on from my second point, is that I have personally, and I bet many of the others who have been vaccinated have too, stopped using standard over-the-counter creams/tablets because the leaflets say they haven't been tested during pregnancy or breastfeeding. So why would I then agree to be injected with an experimental vaccine thats still in phase 3 trials and hasn't even been fully tested on non-pregnant people?

4. My final point is that there are a lot of people saying that the number of pregnant people in intensive care is going up ... while this is true, the numbers are still tiny. In March 2021, 17 pregnant people went into intensive care, in June there was 22. If we say that there was a conservative guestimate of 500 pregnant people admitted to ICU in the last 9 months, then out of 606,500 people currently pregnant in the UK, thats only 0.08% chance of needing intensive care treatment. There was also a study that came out recently detailing how pregnant woman are admitted to hospital with much lower thresholds of symptoms just out of an abundance of caution, and that pregnant women's stays in hospital are much shorter than non-pregnant women because of this.

I am not an anti-vaxxer, as the media would like everyone to believe, I've had all my well-established recommended vaccines, and I completely agree its everyones individual choice based on their personal risk assessment whether they have it or not. But I'm personally not happy being a guinea pig, or agreeing to my unborn baby being a guinea pig, by injecting an experimental substance into my body. And I think people should respect that decision without claiming its stupidity.

Couldn't agree more x

@jojojo82

I have four main points regarding this thread.

1. Firstly, a lot of people here are saying something along the lines of it being stupidity not to get it, yet entire governments of many countries are still not recommending the vaccine during pregnancy (including the one where I currently live), are they all stupid too?

2. A lot of people on this thread are saying its safe during pregnancy, when the simple fact is, this can not be said with any guarantee (and is clearly backed up by not all countries yet recommending it). Yes, studies from the US have shown there's no link between having the vaccine and miscarriage, but there is simply no further conclusive studies on any other ways the baby could be affected long term by having this still-experimental vaccine, because it is still too early.

3. My third point, which kinda follows on from my second point, is that I have personally, and I bet many of the others who have been vaccinated have too, stopped using standard over-the-counter creams/tablets because the leaflets say they haven't been tested during pregnancy or breastfeeding. So why would I then agree to be injected with an experimental vaccine thats still in phase 3 trials and hasn't even been fully tested on non-pregnant people?

4. My final point is that there are a lot of people saying that the number of pregnant people in intensive care is going up ... while this is true, the numbers are still tiny. In March 2021, 17 pregnant people went into intensive care, in June there was 22. If we say that there was a conservative guestimate of 500 pregnant people admitted to ICU in the last 9 months, then out of 606,500 people currently pregnant in the UK, thats only 0.08% chance of needing intensive care treatment. There was also a study that came out recently detailing how pregnant woman are admitted to hospital with much lower thresholds of symptoms just out of an abundance of caution, and that pregnant women's stays in hospital are much shorter than non-pregnant women because of this.

I am not an anti-vaxxer, as the media would like everyone to believe, I've had all my well-established recommended vaccines, and I completely agree its everyones individual choice based on their personal risk assessment whether they have it or not. But I'm personally not happy being a guinea pig, or agreeing to my unborn baby being a guinea pig, by injecting an experimental substance into my body. And I think people should respect that decision without claiming its stupidity.

I couldn't agree more :)

Hi OP

I went back and forth on having mine during pregnancy, for the reasons you state. I eventually made a decision last week and got my first at 20 weeks.

My reasons were:

1. I can’t shield from it. I have a two year old son who goes to nursery and a husband who has to commute by train to work (who is vaccinated of course but that’s no guarantee he won’t bring it home). I haven’t had it before.

1. With that in mind, I weighed up the worst possible outcome of not having it versus having it. The worst possible outcome of contracting Covid whilst pregnant is that I die and leave my son motherless. And possibly leave the baby motherless too (if it survived). Other known possible outcomes of contracting Covid while pregnant are premature birth (which is known to have an association with long-term developmental problems in the baby) or stillbirth.

By contrast, I figured the worst possible outcome of having the vaccine is that without crossing the placenta it has some weird and unknown and so far undetected long-term effect on the baby. But no scientist or doctor can think of a biological mechanism by which that could happen.

For me those two sets of worst-case outcomes were incomparable.

1. In addition, we don’t know much the long-term effects of catching severe Covid on a developing baby, but I found it concerning to learn that several studies have implicated maternal infections (including flu) in developmental problems.

1. None of the vaccine ingredients are known to be harmful in pregnancy, the DART studies didn’t show any evidence of reproductive toxicity, and the vaccine ingredients don’t cross the placenta.

1. Non-live vaccines have been considered safe in pregnancy for a long time. If you go to the NHS travel in pregnancy page, under travel vaccinations it says that non-live vaccines are safe in pregnancy. Just a straightforward statement. No ifs, no buts. Safe in pregnancy. There have never been any clinical trials of the whooping cough vaccine on pregnant women but it’s been offered to us for years and I think most of us take it (you couldn’t pay me not to have it tbh).

1. I realised that if I contract (even mild) Covid towards the end of my pregnancy it could make my hospital care very difficult, which could mean I get worse care. And it could impact on the care of other women. I’d like to reduce the risk of that happening.

1. The baby may get some protection from Covid. They don’t know exactly how much yet, but it seems like a major bonus (given my baby is due in winter).

So those were my reasons. Now I’ve had it I know it was the right decision for me. I feel so much more relaxed and happy.

Either way, I hope you reach a decision you’re happy with 😊

I found it a tough decision to make, despite being knowledgeable about medication and never declined a vaccine before. It felt so different this time, and whilst the awful stories are there I also calculated that in reality these risks seem to remain very low and actually the evidence is pregnant women are more likely to be asymptomatic than non-pregnant women of the same age. I also have very low risk factors other than the pregnancy.

However, in the end I decided to get it. From reading stacks of research I could see no reason how a non live vaccine could harm an unborn now or in the future when it grows up given that there is evidence it doesn't cross the placenta. The Pregnant then Screwed webinar with Dr Viki Male on Instagram was very helpful in dispelling myths.

Days after my vaccine I was exposed heavily to covid and didn't get it, so I wonder if I actually have a level of natural immunity anyhow. But the worry I had about contracting it at that time confirmed that I had made the right decision (for me) to have it.

I do also though completely understand why some women aren't having it and how hard it was to decide, and don't think it's helpful to judge.

@jojojo82 I completely understand and respect your concerns. However I would just add to OP to remember that you’re not just weighing up getting the vaccine against not getting it, you’re weighing it up against potentially catching covid. Based on all evidence to date, it is more likely that covid will cause harm to the foetus than the vaccine will, as there is zero evidence that the vaccine can harm the developing baby short term or long term, yet there is evidence that catching covid can (for example having to have baby delivered early because mum is in intensive care with covid - depending on how early the baby is delivered that could have long term health implications for baby). So I suppose each person has to consider how likely it is they think they will get covid too - personally I shielded from 28 weeks so it would have been very unlikely I’d have gotten covid (I still got the vaccine anyway but could only have the first one in time before my baby was due as this was a few months ago).

@jojojo82

I have four main points regarding this thread.

1. Firstly, a lot of people here are saying something along the lines of it being stupidity not to get it, yet entire governments of many countries are still not recommending the vaccine during pregnancy (including the one where I currently live), are they all stupid too?

2. A lot of people on this thread are saying its safe during pregnancy, when the simple fact is, this can not be said with any guarantee (and is clearly backed up by not all countries yet recommending it). Yes, studies from the US have shown there's no link between having the vaccine and miscarriage, but there is simply no further conclusive studies on any other ways the baby could be affected long term by having this still-experimental vaccine, because it is still too early.

3. My third point, which kinda follows on from my second point, is that I have personally, and I bet many of the others who have been vaccinated have too, stopped using standard over-the-counter creams/tablets because the leaflets say they haven't been tested during pregnancy or breastfeeding. So why would I then agree to be injected with an experimental vaccine thats still in phase 3 trials and hasn't even been fully tested on non-pregnant people?

4. My final point is that there are a lot of people saying that the number of pregnant people in intensive care is going up ... while this is true, the numbers are still tiny. In March 2021, 17 pregnant people went into intensive care, in June there was 22. If we say that there was a conservative guestimate of 500 pregnant people admitted to ICU in the last 9 months, then out of 606,500 people currently pregnant in the UK, thats only 0.08% chance of needing intensive care treatment. There was also a study that came out recently detailing how pregnant woman are admitted to hospital with much lower thresholds of symptoms just out of an abundance of caution, and that pregnant women's stays in hospital are much shorter than non-pregnant women because of this.

I am not an anti-vaxxer, as the media would like everyone to believe, I've had all my well-established recommended vaccines, and I completely agree its everyones individual choice based on their personal risk assessment whether they have it or not. But I'm personally not happy being a guinea pig, or agreeing to my unborn baby being a guinea pig, by injecting an experimental substance into my body. And I think people should respect that decision without claiming its stupidity.

I also agree with.

3 week old DD and had both vaccines (Pfizer) during pregnancy. Absolutely no side effects other than a sore arm with the first, and a perfectly healthy and thriving child.

I won’t tell you what to do or what you should do as it’s very personal. For me I read a lot of info from the ROCG and I think what really swayed me was the study regarding the effect of contracting covid in 3rd trimester. It very much worried me and the pros outweighed the cons in my eyes.

Anecdotally, midwives have spoken about having women in hospital in comas and having to perform emergency c sections to ensure baby is safe. In my own hospital the pregnancy covid areas were overflowing and causing major issues and delays with inductions etc.

This link might help with some info for you

www.rcog.org.uk/covid-vaccine

@jojojo82

I have four main points regarding this thread.

1. Firstly, a lot of people here are saying something along the lines of it being stupidity not to get it, yet entire governments of many countries are still not recommending the vaccine during pregnancy (including the one where I currently live), are they all stupid too?

2. A lot of people on this thread are saying its safe during pregnancy, when the simple fact is, this can not be said with any guarantee (and is clearly backed up by not all countries yet recommending it). Yes, studies from the US have shown there's no link between having the vaccine and miscarriage, but there is simply no further conclusive studies on any other ways the baby could be affected long term by having this still-experimental vaccine, because it is still too early.

3. My third point, which kinda follows on from my second point, is that I have personally, and I bet many of the others who have been vaccinated have too, stopped using standard over-the-counter creams/tablets because the leaflets say they haven't been tested during pregnancy or breastfeeding. So why would I then agree to be injected with an experimental vaccine thats still in phase 3 trials and hasn't even been fully tested on non-pregnant people?

4. My final point is that there are a lot of people saying that the number of pregnant people in intensive care is going up ... while this is true, the numbers are still tiny. In March 2021, 17 pregnant people went into intensive care, in June there was 22. If we say that there was a conservative guestimate of 500 pregnant people admitted to ICU in the last 9 months, then out of 606,500 people currently pregnant in the UK, thats only 0.08% chance of needing intensive care treatment. There was also a study that came out recently detailing how pregnant woman are admitted to hospital with much lower thresholds of symptoms just out of an abundance of caution, and that pregnant women's stays in hospital are much shorter than non-pregnant women because of this.

I am not an anti-vaxxer, as the media would like everyone to believe, I've had all my well-established recommended vaccines, and I completely agree its everyones individual choice based on their personal risk assessment whether they have it or not. But I'm personally not happy being a guinea pig, or agreeing to my unborn baby being a guinea pig, by injecting an experimental substance into my body. And I think people should respect that decision without claiming its stupidity.

Agree with this also, couldn't of said it better myself!

Absolutely would take the vaccine over getting covid in pregnancy every day of the week. Had my pfizer jabs at 5 and 13 weeks, pregnancy progressing perfectly since and I know I'm much less likely to end up on ITU on a ventilator or having my baby delivered early.
Plus i know a couple of ladies with long covid and they are still feeling rough months down the line.
Very happy to follow the recommendations of RCOG, literally the specialists in caring for pregnant women.

I don’t have anything to add in terms of advice (sorry!) as I am so back and forth on this, but I just wanted to thank to @YouMeandtheSpew for your post as I found it soooo helpful. I am 13 weeks and have read countless articles, leaflets, health website etc, spoken to my GP and midwife, and attended a webinar run by the NHS for pregnant women, but your post and reasons made much more sense to me and helped me with my decision more than any of these things!! Particularly points 2 and 5 really made me think, and I feel like I’m leaning much more towards getting the vaccine than I was before reading this. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your thoughts, which you have obviously researched thoroughly! 😊

Just to add something else: by getting the jab while pregnant there is a good chance you will pass the antibodies to the baby too. So it will be born already protected. This pandemic is not going away anytime soon despite what Boris would have you think. We are looking at a minimum of one more year in the UK, probably more. And there is no jab approved for newborns so your child could certainly use the help.

@Mrsspoon3

I’m really glad you found my post helpful. I’m not in any way medically qualified but those were my personal reasons (and as I say I did go back and forth on the decision so I really empathise with other pregnant women who are hesitant, but I’m so happy I’ve done it now).

Obviously medical advice is by far the most important resource out there but I think it can also be really helpful to speak to other pregnant women and hear their reasoning because you know that person is truly in the same boat.

@Mrsspoon3 I know you said you’ve read/watched countless things and you’ve probably already seen it but I really do recommend Pregnant Then Screwed’s webinar with pregnancy immunologist Dr Viki Male, if you haven’t seen it. It really helped me reach my decision. 😊

I would just like to address the further comments that say non-live vaccines have been considered safe in pregnancy for a long time.

I don't dispute this, however with the vaccines being offered during pregnancy, we're not talking about the non-live aspect of it being experimental. They are considered still experimental because the new mRNA approach they use. This new approach to vaccines has never been made available to the public before, let alone pregnant women.

This novel mRNA technology has been in development for decades, namely for potential cancer vaccines (which also get a lot of funding), along with Zika virus, rabies and flu, but none have ever made it out of trials ... including COVID.

Which for me, reiterates why I don't want myself and unborn baby to be made guinea pigs for this new experimental approach.

Just here for the debate....

Pregnant then screwed also have this number you can text for advice, if it is helpful to anyone.

@jojojo82

I have four main points regarding this thread.

1. Firstly, a lot of people here are saying something along the lines of it being stupidity not to get it, yet entire governments of many countries are still not recommending the vaccine during pregnancy (including the one where I currently live), are they all stupid too?

2. A lot of people on this thread are saying its safe during pregnancy, when the simple fact is, this can not be said with any guarantee (and is clearly backed up by not all countries yet recommending it). Yes, studies from the US have shown there's no link between having the vaccine and miscarriage, but there is simply no further conclusive studies on any other ways the baby could be affected long term by having this still-experimental vaccine, because it is still too early.

3. My third point, which kinda follows on from my second point, is that I have personally, and I bet many of the others who have been vaccinated have too, stopped using standard over-the-counter creams/tablets because the leaflets say they haven't been tested during pregnancy or breastfeeding. So why would I then agree to be injected with an experimental vaccine thats still in phase 3 trials and hasn't even been fully tested on non-pregnant people?

4. My final point is that there are a lot of people saying that the number of pregnant people in intensive care is going up ... while this is true, the numbers are still tiny. In March 2021, 17 pregnant people went into intensive care, in June there was 22. If we say that there was a conservative guestimate of 500 pregnant people admitted to ICU in the last 9 months, then out of 606,500 people currently pregnant in the UK, thats only 0.08% chance of needing intensive care treatment. There was also a study that came out recently detailing how pregnant woman are admitted to hospital with much lower thresholds of symptoms just out of an abundance of caution, and that pregnant women's stays in hospital are much shorter than non-pregnant women because of this.

I am not an anti-vaxxer, as the media would like everyone to believe, I've had all my well-established recommended vaccines, and I completely agree its everyones individual choice based on their personal risk assessment whether they have it or not. But I'm personally not happy being a guinea pig, or agreeing to my unborn baby being a guinea pig, by injecting an experimental substance into my body. And I think people should respect that decision without claiming its stupidity.

100% agree and my feelings also.

@YouMeandtheSpew Thanks so much for recommending that webinar. I actually haven’t come across that so will look it up! Thank you! 😊