Covid vaccine

[ddoodle55]

Morning all,

Can anyone please share any advice or opinions on getting the covid vaccine in pregnancy?

I'm not anti vax at all and previously had every covid vaccine/booster offered to me, will get flu and whooping cough etc.

However I just can't shake anxiety over getting covid vaccine and wasn't planning on getting it but now covid seems to be rife where I live so having second thoughts.

Any advice at all will be much appreciated thank you! X

I don’t agree that it’s just a bad cough my FIL nearly died and he is fit and healthy. I’ve had all my jabs included this Winters booster and flu jab. Like others have said it’s good protection for your baby and the others around you too.

I had it last week. I will absolutely to do everything I can to avoid covid while pregnant and give my baby some immunity at the same time. No side effects whatsoever.

I am one of those people that actually rolls their eyes when someone tells me that “so-and-so has Covid”. Like, who is still even testing for it!? 🙄

BUT I had a horrible chest infection and cough for 8 weeks early on in my pregnancy, so I have had the Covid booster. Anything to avoid going through that again! Obviously I didn’t test for Covid at the time (I was on holiday and no tests readily available) so I don’t know if it was that, but still. Having a cold is bad enough atm 😫

I got covid a few days before I gave birth and couldn't see my baby for the first 7 days (she was in NICU), it was hideous. I'd had my vaccine as soon as I was offered it but it was just before I got a positive test so I hadn't had time for immunity to build up. I'll get it as soon as possible this time to try and avoid that happening again.

I would think so if placenta issues are caused by the low oxygen and hopefully the vaccine would prevent it getting that bad but I have no idea 🤷‍♀️

@mashm24 thanks for your reply it's good to hear positive stories!

Such a good perspective I hadn't thought of, thank you!

That's awful ginger I hope your baby is doing well now! I hadn't even thought of that happening x

Thanks so much ladies for all your replies, I've decided to get the vaccine x

I had two vaccines and they wanted me to have a third when I was pregnant. I'd had 13 miscarriages before 13 weeks so when I got to 20 weeks I was not doing anything out of the ordinary to my body. I refused the jab. I did end up with Covid at 30 weeks, my lung capacity was less and I spent a few hours having oxygen as felt breathless. I was out of A&E that night and tested negative about 4 days later. Just felt like having a cold apart from the breathlessness. Ultimately it's your body and your baby. DD is 4 months old and I haven't and won't be getting another vaccine.

I will add that they bought down the machine that monitors babies heart rate and movements which were all normal. I had to have extra scans anyway as had so many miscarriages.

I had the vaccines before I got pregnant because I had to for work. I then refused when pregnant, I'm sorry but it's all too new to know long term effects in my opinion. So I personally didn't risk it and am happy with that decision.

What I will say is I had Covid twice pre pregnancy when I was vacated yes i felt unwell but no more than for other coughs and colds. I did get it when pregnant and I felt really unwell. I'd only missed one booster at that point but that combined with pregnant was horrendous.

@MariaVT65 The official recommendation is not based on what each trust says. On a national level it has been recommended for all pregnant women. You can find this info on the govt, NHS and national booking system websites

It's recommended for pregnant women. I had it along with the flu jab last week

That’s all very well saying that, but clearly this isn’t being communicated to pregnant women by their individual trusts or recommended by midwives. If you look at general news articles, it’s the over 65s and others with immunity concerns that are being offered it. It only mentions pregnant women when referring to the flu vaccine.

Currently pregnant women are allowed to book a booster on the NHS app while other groups of people aren't. This is because it's recommended, otherwise it wouldn't be offered to you. I could book on the basis I'm pregnant but my husband and sister can't. This is because pregnant women have suffered serious complications as a result of covid.

There's a pregnancy immunologist who has been compiling all these evidence about the vaccine in pregnancy and updating a Google doc. You can download it here (don't know how to link a Google drive document directly) https://twitter.com/VikiLovesFACS/status/1367099701238116353
The conclusion is that is is overwhelming safe and protects mother from severe illness and baby once born. So baby gets passive immunity.

She cités all her references and updates.

COVID is a vascular disease, it affects the blood vessels, even if you have a very mild case. So it can affect the placenta and limit oxygen flow to your baby. The best thing you can do is avoid catching COVID by masking up indoors with an N95, honestly it beggars belief that all midwives aren't telling pregnant women this and wearing masks themselves to protect patients.

Second best thing is get vaccinated.

Stay safe!

Yeah you can book it online, but my point is that women aren’t being told to do this by their midwives, and sometimes being told they don’t need it.

@AussieManque Yes you're right, it's a vascular disease and this is not said enough as they always compare it to a cold but it is a lot more than that. With regards to masks, I agree with you, this is a very important tool and personally I have never stopped using it.

Haven’t been offered it!

@TTCbaby2023 me too, still in N95 always indoors. Had COVID at 5 weeks pregnant last year and can't help but think that's why I lost the pregnancy. TTC still so trying to keep as healthy as possible.

Hope you get your baby too!

That's a shame. My guess is it's either a lack of education on the midwife's part or some midwives may be pushing their own personal beliefs about vaccines in pregnancy. But on a national level it is available to pregnant women alongside other at risk groups.

Also to say that nobody offered it to me but I saw that it could be booked from the 18th of September on the NHS website. So once it was available, I went through the NHS app. The first question you get asked is if you are pregnant. If you answer yes, it says you are eligible and takes you to the booking page.

At the pharmacy I booked with, the pharmacist just asked me why I was eligible and I told him I was pregnant (I also work in healthcare but didn't need to mention this at any stage). No further questions, I got the jab.

So I definitely agree, women are not being routinely offered it even though they should be. I'm guessing this is a system failure rather than anything else.

As i’ve said in previous posts, I’m told it is different trusts giving different advice. I’m in the south east and my midwife hasn’t said don’t get the covid one, but she hasn’t encouraged it either, and instead has encouraged me to get flu and whooping cough.

My best friend is a midwife in the north. Her trust has said the current advice is that a booster is not needed at this stage if you’ve already had 2 vaccines.