Are there any contraindications between the covid vaccine and pregnancy?

The vaccine developed for COVID-19 is safe for pregnant women, at least according to the data currently available. On this basis, which is maintained by all the experts consulted on the subject, some doubts may arise in particular cases. It is common for COVID and pregnancy to form a couple feared by pregnant women. But the risk, as our English-speaking doctors point out, lies in the disease itself and not in the vaccine.

COVID-19 and pregnancy: the available data on the incidence of the disease

Let’s focus before referring to the vaccine on the data collected on COVID and its action in unvaccinated pregnant women. All the information below comes from the CDC or Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a governmental institution under the United States government.

According to the studies carried out by this institution, pregnant women are more likely to suffer the most severe effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In other words, pregnant women may be admitted to the ICU for respiratory problems in many more cases than other women of similar age and physical condition.

Another risk that a woman who contracts COVID-19 during the months of gestation must assume is that of premature delivery. This means that, due to COVID, delivery may occur before 37 weeks. It is easy to guess the risk this poses to the baby, as its life is in serious danger if it is not born with sufficient maturity.

Thus, SARS-CoV-2 infection puts both the mother and the fetus at risk in a fairly high percentage of cases.

Can the vaccine prevent the risks of COVID in pregnant women?

Most experts agree that pregnant women should be vaccinated, as the risks, if any, of vaccination are minimal compared to the risks of non-vaccination mentioned above.

Vaccines, especially messenger RNA vaccines, have been shown to be safe for pregnant women. They have reported no more symptoms than any other young person in perfect health. That is, they have only indicated general malaise, tiredness and localized pain for a few days.

Thus, pregnant women can receive the full course of the vaccine. They should be aware that they are protecting themselves with the inoculation, but also the baby they are carrying.

Indeed, children born to mothers who have been inoculated with the vaccine during gestation come into the world with a high presence of antibodies against COVID-19. Therefore, the child will be born with an immune system already prepared to face this virus, which does not mean that the child will not also have to receive a dose of the vaccine when it is due.

It is easy to conclude from what we have said so far that pregnant women can and should be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the data currently available. International medical opinion is practically unanimous in this regard, and it is that the vaccine doses are useful to avoid the worst cases of infection and even to ensure that the child is born with antibodies against the disease.

Doubts in risk pregnancies

Risks in pregnancy can occur for many reasons and are always a source of concern for the mother. In these cases, it is normal that doubts may arise when it comes to vaccination against the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

It is logical that many women may have doubts about whether or not to be vaccinated. In fact, there are cases in which doubts are far from being unwarranted.

There are women who become pregnant with previous pathologies. In these cases, logic and common sense indicate that the opinion of the physician in charge of monitoring the pregnancy should be followed.

Well, in the case of the vaccine, the same thing happens. If a physician considers that there is a risk pregnancy or that there is a health problem that is incompatible with the vaccine for the pregnancy to be successful, he/she will indicate it and will provide all the information about it.

The advice, in any case, is none other than to follow the specialist’s indications, as is done with the rest of the situations that affect pregnancy.

In conclusion, at MedVisit we have no doubt about the need for pregnant women to be vaccinated. This is because the infection is more dangerous than the side effects of the vaccine, which has not been proven to be harmful during pregnancy.