@Iggy23
hey iggy thanks for your kind reply- yes I’ve been doing SO much reading over the last week to try and find out what’s safest for me and my baby, and it was definitely confusing to me that every NHS site encourages the jabs yet a government report also says they can’t assure it’s safe ….which I think is also because they don’t (and maybe can’t) know the long term affects of a brand new vaccine, because it hasn’t been out and because they can’t ethically test it- also being the reason it’s too early to know harmful affects either. So seems to me it’s just a big unknown which obviously as a first time mum (with a very long hard fertility journey with losses makes me even more cautious for my little miracle) is concerning and hard to weigh up risks that are basically unknown.
Ive also spoken to a handful of midwives and doulas who also have conflicting opinions and advice 🙈
What I have started to feel though, is because there are many stories of actual experiences where women/babies HAVE had a negative impact from not having the vaccine in the past, that feels like a stronger, more likely risk than whatever the unknown long term risk is of a new vaccine. (Very sorry to hear about ur family members stillbirth) And surely if they thought there was any significant risk they wouldn’t encourage pregnant women so strongly to have it, as where would they gain in that?
And especially since I’ll be in 3rd trimester in the thick of winter/covid/flu season it’s a scary risk to take catching either badly could negatively affect me or my pregnancy/baby.
I haven’t noticed any negative impact from the vaccines and boosters I had throughout Covid yet, and grateful I didn’t get awful Covid or long Covid, so maybe this counts for something.
Im sure like many on here though, its hard to feel completely as peace being injected with a drug that hasn’t been able to be fully tested (and can’t) so don’t truly know how safe it is, and hard to read that in black and white from the government report….especially now it’s not just me but my babies immediate and long term health to consider.
What was odd to me too, is why they say it definitely shouldn’t be given to breastfeeding women? I wish they would explain why they say that. I’d have thought it was more risky for a pregnant woman than a breastfeeding woman if anything, because at least the pregnancy is finished and the baby is out 🤔
I appreciate this space for kind respectful pondering of these difficult choices us mums need to make, it is a minefield of contradictory information out there and takes a lot of searching, reading to even start to try and make a slightly informed choice.
I wish you all peace and confidence in whatever choice feels right for you, and grateful for anyone’s helpful kind input or experiences :)