Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine During Pregnancy: Is It Safe? ⋆ Fitwitchery

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pregnant woman getting covid 19 vaccine with syringe in foreground

With a lot of mixed info around the COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy, it’s hard to know what to do. Here’s my story, plus recent studies.

But hey—I’m not a doctor or a professional.

I’m not in any way a medical professional, so let me make that clear. Please don’t mistake this post for medical advice. This is my personal experience about why I decided to get the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant, and how it went for me (SPOILER ALERT: So far, so good!). I’m also including links to a bunch of recent articles that have highlighted the data that we know so far (SPOILER ALERT AGAIN: It looks pretty safe).

Speaking of doctors, listen to yours. Most likely, your doctor will take a hands-off approach, as mine did (at first), or they might go ahead and recommend it. But your pregnancy is different from my pregnancy and every gosh darn one out there, so always check with an expert who understands your pregnancy or situation.

The “official” recommendation is…no recommendation.

If you’re pregnant, like me (and I suspect you are), then you might be confused by the fact that the CDC recommends that the vaccine be made available to pregnant women, and yet doesn’t recommend it.

But they don’t say it’s not recommended, either. They basically lay the choice with you. I mean, that’s cool and all, but for a disease that has killed over half a million in this country alone, and of which we still know little, it’s disconcerting.

Your doctor’s “official” recommendation might be something similar. I wrote mine an email, and she refrained from offering a recommendation on her reply, instead supplying me with the CDC data above, plus some other articles. I suspect she didn’t want something possibly litigious (however small) in writing. When I met with her in person, however, she was much more encouraging, though I had already received the first dose.

So yeah, it’s up to you.

pregnant woman laughing on bench with husband

I will say that new data and information comes out daily about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, so as time goes on, you might get less and less anxious.

If you are anxious at all. I was. The problem is that the original studies did not include pregnant or breastfeeding women because, well, that would be kind of messed up, if you think about it. First, you need to determine if the vaccine is safe for anyone at all. And the fact of the matter is, we are pretty darn sure it is, but we still lack data there, too.

(At the bottom of this post, I’ve included some recent articles for you to check out.)

Separating myth from fact.

On top of the lack of sufficient data to deem the vaccine safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, there is rampant misinformation floating around about the vaccine in general. No, the vaccine does not cause infertility, and the vaccine does not inject the patient with the virus itself. It also wasn’t developed using fetal tissue, and it won’t alter your baby’s DNA.

I understand some people have misgivings about any and all vaccines, and I’m not speaking to that. I just mean to address some of the myths specifically concerning the COVID-19 vaccines and reproductive health.

My experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy.

I’m in New York City, so the experience will be different from location to location. Besides the slight hassle of obtaining an appointment, the actual experience was swift, organized, friendly and drama-free.

I went in early, answered their questionnaires, gave them my ID and QR code to verify my appointment, and then I got a quick jab in the upper arm. They observe you for 15 minutes in case you have any side effects (I didn’t) and then let you get on with life.

I’m not going to lie—I felt like I could feel it in my arm, like Spiderman getting bit with the radioactive spider. Like it was magic or superhuman. Chances are, that was just my mind playing tricks on me after a year of this &^#@#&* pandemic.

The next two days I only had one small side effect: My arm was a little sore, almost like I had muscle soreness from lateral side raises. But after about two or three days, it was gone. Some people have worse side effects, but they generally go away within 24-48 hours.

The second shot has more side effects, from what I’ve heard, so I’ll update this post once I get that mid-April.

Concerns about COVID vs concerns about the vaccine during pregnancy.

Another factor to consider is the danger of getting infected with the COVID virus during pregnancy. And while many of us have become normalized to its dangers, it’s still out there, with more aggressive variants picking up speed.

To make matters worse, pregnant women are considered high-risk for contracting COVID, since they are more likely to develop a severe illness and might have adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Consider the timing with other vaccines.

When I filled out my questionnaire, they asked if I had had any other vaccines in the last 14 days. As pregnant people, we do usually get a few so we can pass antibodies on to our babies. I had a prescription for the DTaP (whooping cough, etc.) vaccine in my purse for weeks but kept procrastinating. I was planning on stopping by the next day and getting that vaccine as well.

But I didn’t, because it’s not a good idea. I found out from the nurse administering the vaccine, and later from my doctor, that the body should really only handle one vaccine at a time. Therefore, since my window was closing to get the DTaP, it was basically that or the COVID vaccine.

I chose the COVID vaccine, and I’m glad I did. COVID seems to pose a bigger threat to my and my baby’s health than whooping cough at this moment. Furthermore, I could get the DTaP after birth, passing on those antibodies in breastmilk.

If you do receive another vaccine, don’t bother making an appointment for the COVID vaccine within that 14 days. Wait, or they’ll send you home.

Do your research and ask around.

If you’re on the fence about getting the COVID vaccine during pregnancy, I get it. It went from “Pregnant women should not get the vaccine” to “Actually, maybe they should get it (but we won’t say that officially so we don’t get ourselves in trouble).”

Until there are clear guidelines and recommendations, ask around and do your research. Ask friends and acquaintances, especially those who practice medicine or are in the field.

Check every few days for new research. There is always a new article on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy. I check regularly, and I have never seen an article suggesting any negative effects of the vaccine on the pregnancy itself. Filter your search to only get articles from the last 24 hours, and you’ll get the most up-to-date information.

Here are a few to get you started: