On pregnancy and the COVID vaccine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released new data and encouraged all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
As an OB-GYN physician assistant, I feel that this latest guidance will give assurance to many of my patients who have been weighing whether to get vaccinated. However, even with this recommendation, I understand making this decision is not easy.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, expecting mothers and families have faced extremely hard decisions and challenges that nothing could have prepared them for. I was pregnant with my first child when the pandemic began, which allowed me to connect with my patients and navigate through the questions and concerns with them.
When I found out I was pregnant, we were just learning about COVID-19 in China. Once we knew it was present in the United States, my concerns grew. As someone who practices medicine, it is sometimes easy to think that you have all the answers at your fingertips. But this was uncharted territory — and no one seemed to know how to handle this virus.
Experiencing this fear and uncertainty helped me as a health care provider because I was going through the same challenges as my patients. Patients come to health care providers because they need something from you, and that need may be physical or emotional. When my patients walked into the exam room and saw that I was pregnant, it provided some comfort that I’m a human, too — with a family and a growing baby inside me — and they knew I would be transparent and could understand what they were going through.
My patients had so many questions. Was it safe to work? Should family visit after the delivery? What were the hospital guidelines and could their partner labor with them?
We handled each question one by one, until we finally reached the biggest question of all: Should I get vaccinated?
I was vaccinated in February 2021 once the vaccine became available, seven months after giving birth, and I continued to breastfeed for another five months.
When sharing my vaccine experience with patients, I never want them to feel that I am pressuring them to make the same decision. Each individual must choose if they want the vaccine or not. Making their decision is not my job; my job is to help my patients sift through the data and to share facts from reliable sources as they make their decisions about the vaccine.
Several organizations, including the World Health Organization, the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agree that pregnant women appear to have an increased risk of developing severe cases of COVID-19 compared to nonpregnant women. ACOG pushed for vaccine eligibility, given the likelihood of increased disease severity in pregnant women and the transmission of antibodies through breast milk in lactating women.
Pregnant and lactating women who receive a COVID-19 vaccine are added to a pregnancy registry and monitored for adverse events. To date, adverse events observed among pregnant individuals have not indicated any safety concerns. However, even with this information and personal stories like mine, I know many women still aren’t sure whether to get vaccinated. And I can completely understand that feeling.
The most important thing I want pregnant women to know is that you are not in this alone. Your health care provider is there to answer questions and provide reliable information as you make your decision. You may not feel ready to get the vaccine, but please don’t hesitate to have the conversation with us.
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