You may be debating whether or not you should get the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, especially since there are conflicting guidelines, messages, and stories about whether or not it's recommended and safe for pregnant women.
Here’s everything parents should know about the COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women, including why it's still an important way to protect yourself and your baby.
Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine if I’m pregnant or breastfeeding?
Yes, you should get the COVID vaccine when you're pregnant or breastfeeding, as long as it's available.
The COVID-19 vaccine is still strongly recommended by many in the medical community as a way to protect pregnant women from getting gravely ill and landing in the hospital while they're expecting.
Experts believe it can also provide critical protection to your baby and say that staying up-to-date on your annual COVID vaccine when you're expecting helps pass antibodies for the virus to your newborn after birth.
"The COVID-19 vaccine is important for those who are planning to become pregnant, those who are pregnant, and their babies," says Shannon Smith, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN and partner at Brigham Faulkner OB/GYN Associates in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the What to Expect Medical Review Board.
Leading experts including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) strongly recommend that all who are eligible — including children 6 months and older and pregnant and breastfeeding women — get the COVID-19 vaccine each year.[1]
Still unsure about whether you should get it while you're pregnant, or worried about whether it's safe for you and your baby? Rest assured that tens of thousands of other pregnant women have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with no issues. There's plenty of solid evidence showing that the shots are safe and effective when you're expecting.
"Safety data about vaccination in pregnancy is rapidly accumulating, with more women being vaccinated, and no safety concerns have been detected despite the large number of pregnant women being vaccinated," researchers wrote in a review published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology Science. "Globally, the recommended COVID-19 vaccine, and numerous other vaccines, have been proven to be safe and effective in preventing COVID-19 in pregnant women."
Get more pregnancy health information and tips, and track your pregnancy at every stage on the What to Expect app.
Why do I need to get the COVID shot when I'm pregnant? Is it really necessary?
The risks of contracting COVID-19 while pregnant — including increased risk of preterm birth and other adverse outcomes for your baby — are higher than the potential risks of getting the vaccine while pregnant.
Compared to women who are not pregnant, expectant moms have an increased risk of severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19, according to medical experts. The vaccines offer protection against serious illness, including from the variants circulating during the current cold and flu season, and increase the chances that you would experience mild symptoms if you do get infected.
The vaccines also builds protective antibodies for your baby until he is old enough to get vaccinated himself.
How and where can I get vaccinated?
You can get an updated COVID-19 vaccine as long as it's been at least two months since your last COVID-19 shot. Children 6 months to 4 years old need multiple doses of one of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccines designed for them.
These recommendations are different from past guidelines, which included getting a series of primary shots and a booster. As of September 2023, the medical community moved away from the booster approach. Now, COVID-19 shots are treated like flu shots, where people can simply get an updated shot that's targeted against the latest strain or strains each fall.
The updated vaccines are monovalent vaccines, meaning they only target the current circulating strain of COVID-19. These latest vaccines are thought to offer the best protection against COVID-19 for the current season, since the original strain of COVID-19 and earlier variants are no longer in circulation.
The COVID-19 vaccine is still free for most people in the U.S., and most health insurance plans will cover the vaccine at no cost to you.
If you don't have insurance or your plan doesn't cover the vaccine, you can get a free shot from a local health center, or a state, local, tribal, or territorial health department. (Any other children you have can receive a free shot from a local provider enrolled in the Vaccines for Children program.)
Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding?
We have good evidence showing that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, and people should feel confident getting their shot at any point during pregnancy and beyond.
There have been many myths about the COVID-19 during pregnancy, including rumors that the vaccine increases risk of miscarriage or could cause infertility. These myths and others are untrue and are not rooted in science.
Leading experts note that mRNA vaccines like the ones from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have been studied for years, and we have plenty of strong data about their safety.
"If you look at the literally — literally — tens and tens and tens of thousands of women who have been followed by the CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] who were vaccinated when they were pregnant, there's no indication whatsoever that there's any increase of any adverse issues in a pregnant woman who was vaccinated compared to a pregnant woman who wasn't vaccinated," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the past director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and former Chief Medical Advisor to the President, in an interview with What to Expect founder Heidi Murkoff. "It's really one of those things that's kind of not a close call. It really is pretty clear that pregnant women should get vaccinated."
A June 2023 systematic review that looked at 71 studies involving more than 17 million pregnant women worldwide, published in the journal Vaccine, found no safety concerns associated with getting the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy.
These reviews came after numerous major studies published similar findings. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine found no safety concerns for 35,691 pregnant participants aged 16 to 54 years old who received an mRNA vaccine. Rates of miscarriage, preterm birth, and low birth weight babies among participants in the program were consistent with studies of pregnant women before the pandemic.
Another analysis of data assessed vaccination early in pregnancy (before 20 weeks) and did not find an increased risk of miscarriage. Among nearly 2,500 pregnant women who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine before July 19, 2021, reported rates remained similar to pre-pandemic averages.
Emerging research also suggests that being vaccinated during pregnancy might offer added protection for newborns, who can't get vaccinated themselves until age 6 months.
A small study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, published in the journal PLoS One, found that pregnant and breastfeeding women who received a COVID-19 vaccine generated antibodies against the virus. Five months after giving birth, these antibodies were present in the majority of infants whose mothers had been vaccinated.
What's more, a large JAMA Internal Medicine study published in June 2022 found additional evidence that babies may gain passive protection from vaccination during pregnancy. In the study, the researchers found that newborns were less likely to test positive for COVID-19 in the first four months of life if their mothers were vaccinated while pregnant.
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