If I am not a doctor I wouldn’t touch this topic with a 10 feet pole. But being a consultant I feel the need to provide an opinion here. The immunogenicity and toxicity study prior to the ongoing Pfizer vaccine efficacy and safety study showed no evidence of fertility or reproductive toxicity but that study wasn’t in the pregnant population.
My gut feeling is it’s okay to get the vaccine but if you feel even a little uncomfortable about taking the vaccine, you should skip and just take precautions and continue to socially distance yourself.
I went to an OB and she advised me against taking the vaccine because of the lack of study on pregnant women. Honestly, my two cents is to not risk it.
OP: I may have missed this but when are you due? I understand your concern. My best advice is to talk this over with your doctor. I certainly don’t want you to get Covid but I understand your concern for your baby. Theoretically, stimulating your immune system to produce antibodies ought not to be a risk to the fetus, but again I do understand your worries.
My wife and I are expecting a child in the summer. Both our GP and Obgyn recommended that she not get the vaccine as it has not been tested on pregnant women. Not recommending you do the same but did want to share our plan.
Not a doctor, but my wife is an OBGYN and we have a close friend that is also an OBGYN that is pregnant. She is waiting till the 3rd trimester to get the vaccine. So while anecdotal, and I acknowledge that there is limited research on the vaccine for pregnant women, but our friend is getting the vaccine. May be worth waiting till your little nugget has had a bit more time to bake.
I’m pregnant and getting my first dose of the vaccine on Friday. My OB and every physician I’ve consulted with has advocated for me getting it, without reservation. Additionally, of my three friends from college who are physicians, they’ve said that they don’t know a single pregnant doctor that they work with who has passed on it, and recommend getting it as well. It is true that we don’t have robust trial data at this point, but from a theoretical standpoint the science is sound and doesn’t pose any clear threat to baby. The limited data that has come in, in studies with low n that are under review, has been positive/no adverse affects seen thus far. The trials in animals (3x the dose in rabbit or rat? populations) show no adverse impacts on offspring. Finally, as you probably know, pregnant women and newborns (although less than pregnant women) are at a much higher risk for severe disease from Covid, so to me that was probably the tipping point that the unknown risk associated to the vaccine ultimately loses to the risk mitigation of receiving the vaccine and potentially transferring some immunity to the baby. Happy to share sources on the above if you DM me directly. If I were in your shoes, as a PT, I’d definitely get it.
Advice is to wait until baby is born based on both the lack of data in pregnant populations, and the lack of understanding more broadly of how foreign mRNA expression could impact a baby before it has developed it's own immune system.
Current knowledge assuaging the second concern could exist beyond my ken, but mRNA patterns are pretty critical to early development in all animals. Theoretically could be problematic to produce a foreign protein - which has caused unexpected and durable autoimmune issues in some populations - before you even have your own immune system to recognize foreign proteins. Breast feeding would theoretically significantly mitigate this concern.
This is a personal choice based on your risk of exposure. I am 6 mo pp and wish I was category 1B so I could take it and confer immunity to my baby through breast milk. I have a personal friend who is third trimester ER physician / toxicology specialist and first pregnant women to be vaccinated in Chicago. Her risk of exposure due to her profession is high so it makes sense to fully protect herself and the baby. Also as someone mentioned above, the placenta provides a certain level of protection filtering much before reaching the fetus. Another point, I was advised during a previous pregnancy to continue allergy shots (a 2+ year monthly regimen) to help provide antibody exposure to my fetus. My child has no food or environmental allergies today that are known.
The first dose in a two-dose series does not offer much protection. I have an autoimmune disorder and took the first Moderna shot. I felt like hell for a week because of my sensitive immune system (far more than shoulder and muscle pain, though I have broken multiple bones so that wasn’t a showstopper for me). I’m still getting my second dose. Why? Because, if that’s how I felt from a simulation of infection, I don’t want to know what would happen were I to get Covid. Please get vaccinated when your doctor feels it’s safe for you. Don’t listen to random weaklings on social media who may not know a thing about public health.
This is obviously your choice. I have never been pregnant not will I be, so I cannot share a similar mindset, but I will mention that I have seen articles where a number of pregnant medical doctors have received the vaccine. I would imagine the later in the pregnancy the better, but again this is just anecdotal and I am not a professional. Best of luck to you though!
I haven’t had children yet so I am planning to wait, ideally several years until we have a better picture of long term impacts and all things related to pregnancy. The trials were only 2 months, which is pretty limited. I keep an eye on the VAERS data, which is publicly available, to monitor adverse reactions reported to date.
There is a lot to be learned about both covid and vaccines, but the placenta provides pretty amazing protection. Women’s bodies are incredible. Wishing you a safe and healthy pregnancy!
After careful consideration I got it at 20 weeks. They gave me the Moderna one and I just had local pain, that was it. Scheduled for the second dose in 2 weeks. Before consulting I was a research scientist in immunology - I asked around for advice and opinions to MDs and PhDs in the field, and did a bunch of fact gathering. Despite there not being data all the proxys and animals studies suggest it is safe. Weight risks/benefits I decided it was the best choice for me ad my family. It is hard to decide TBH, I was on the same boat.
If I am not a doctor I wouldn’t touch this topic with a 10 feet pole.
But being a consultant I feel the need to provide an opinion here. The immunogenicity and toxicity study prior to the ongoing Pfizer vaccine efficacy and safety study showed no evidence of fertility or reproductive toxicity but that study wasn’t in the pregnant population.
My gut feeling is it’s okay to get the vaccine but if you feel even a little uncomfortable about taking the vaccine, you should skip and just take precautions and continue to socially distance yourself.
C1, of course she is. Pregnant women don’t get a 40 week paid break to be pregnant...
I went to an OB and she advised me against taking the vaccine because of the lack of study on pregnant women. Honestly, my two cents is to not risk it.
OP: I may have missed this but when are you due? I understand your concern. My best advice is to talk this over with your doctor. I certainly don’t want you to get Covid but I understand your concern for your baby. Theoretically, stimulating your immune system to produce antibodies ought not to be a risk to the fetus, but again I do understand your worries.
My wife and I are expecting a child in the summer. Both our GP and Obgyn recommended that she not get the vaccine as it has not been tested on pregnant women. Not recommending you do the same but did want to share our plan.
Not a doctor, but my wife is an OBGYN and we have a close friend that is also an OBGYN that is pregnant. She is waiting till the 3rd trimester to get the vaccine. So while anecdotal, and I acknowledge that there is limited research on the vaccine for pregnant women, but our friend is getting the vaccine. May be worth waiting till your little nugget has had a bit more time to bake.
With the amount of time and research that has been done, there is no way they truly understand the impact to any demographic such as pregnancy.
I’m pregnant and getting my first dose of the vaccine on Friday. My OB and every physician I’ve consulted with has advocated for me getting it, without reservation. Additionally, of my three friends from college who are physicians, they’ve said that they don’t know a single pregnant doctor that they work with who has passed on it, and recommend getting it as well. It is true that we don’t have robust trial data at this point, but from a theoretical standpoint the science is sound and doesn’t pose any clear threat to baby. The limited data that has come in, in studies with low n that are under review, has been positive/no adverse affects seen thus far. The trials in animals (3x the dose in rabbit or rat? populations) show no adverse impacts on offspring. Finally, as you probably know, pregnant women and newborns (although less than pregnant women) are at a much higher risk for severe disease from Covid, so to me that was probably the tipping point that the unknown risk associated to the vaccine ultimately loses to the risk mitigation of receiving the vaccine and potentially transferring some immunity to the baby. Happy to share sources on the above if you DM me directly. If I were in your shoes, as a PT, I’d definitely get it.
My sister in law is pregnant and a doctor. She’s also married to a doctor. She has received both doses of the vaccine. She’s due in July.
Advice is to wait until baby is born based on both the lack of data in pregnant populations, and the lack of understanding more broadly of how foreign mRNA expression could impact a baby before it has developed it's own immune system.
Current knowledge assuaging the second concern could exist beyond my ken, but mRNA patterns are pretty critical to early development in all animals. Theoretically could be problematic to produce a foreign protein - which has caused unexpected and durable autoimmune issues in some populations - before you even have your own immune system to recognize foreign proteins. Breast feeding would theoretically significantly mitigate this concern.
This is a personal choice based on your risk of exposure. I am 6 mo pp and wish I was category 1B so I could take it and confer immunity to my baby through breast milk. I have a personal friend who is third trimester ER physician / toxicology specialist and first pregnant women to be vaccinated in Chicago. Her risk of exposure due to her profession is high so it makes sense to fully protect herself and the baby. Also as someone mentioned above, the placenta provides a certain level of protection filtering much before reaching the fetus. Another point, I was advised during a previous pregnancy to continue allergy shots (a 2+ year monthly regimen) to help provide antibody exposure to my fetus. My child has no food or environmental allergies today that are known.
Do not take second dose
You will have body ache and shoulder pain for 48 hours
The first dose in a two-dose series does not offer much protection. I have an autoimmune disorder and took the first Moderna shot. I felt like hell for a week because of my sensitive immune system (far more than shoulder and muscle pain, though I have broken multiple bones so that wasn’t a showstopper for me). I’m still getting my second dose. Why? Because, if that’s how I felt from a simulation of infection, I don’t want to know what would happen were I to get Covid. Please get vaccinated when your doctor feels it’s safe for you. Don’t listen to random weaklings on social media who may not know a thing about public health.
This is obviously your choice. I have never been pregnant not will I be, so I cannot share a similar mindset, but I will mention that I have seen articles where a number of pregnant medical doctors have received the vaccine. I would imagine the later in the pregnancy the better, but again this is just anecdotal and I am not a professional. Best of luck to you though!
I haven’t had children yet so I am planning to wait, ideally several years until we have a better picture of long term impacts and all things related to pregnancy. The trials were only 2 months, which is pretty limited. I keep an eye on the VAERS data, which is publicly available, to monitor adverse reactions reported to date.
There is a lot to be learned about both covid and vaccines, but the placenta provides pretty amazing protection. Women’s bodies are incredible. Wishing you a safe and healthy pregnancy!
Thank you all - appreciate everyone’s input here and sharing your thoughts 💜
After careful consideration I got it at 20 weeks. They gave me the Moderna one and I just had local pain, that was it. Scheduled for the second dose in 2 weeks. Before consulting I was a research scientist in immunology - I asked around for advice and opinions to MDs and PhDs in the field, and did a bunch of fact gathering. Despite there not being data all the proxys and animals studies suggest it is safe. Weight risks/benefits I decided it was the best choice for me ad my family. It is hard to decide TBH, I was on the same boat.