For almost two years, COVID-19 has been a hot topic,
dominating all news outlets
and changing our lives.
As the pandemic continues to progress,
we continue to be bombarded with a vast amount of
scientific information,
that continues to change and may be faulty or misleading.
Among these
is the big question as to whether pregnant people
should get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In this video, we will present the facts on the topic.
First, let's discuss COVID-19.
It is caused by the specific coronavirus, SARS-Co-V-2,
which results in a highly contagious
respiratory infection characterized by a cough,
difficulty breathing, fever, fatigue,
loss of taste or smell, and more.
At this time, COVID-19 preventative strategies include
physical distancing,
utilisation of masks,
proper hygiene,
isolation of those who are infected,
and most importantly, vaccines.
Before we discuss COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy,
if you are looking for more information on
the COVID-19 vaccines in general,
please check out the other videos on the Demystifying Medicine channel
or visit the additional resources in the description.
Vaccines are currently recommended for a large proportion of the population,
including pregnant individuals.
However,
through an abundance of ever-changing scientific information,
combined with myths being propagated through social media,
many pregnant women have been left confused
about if they should get the vaccine. For many people,
pregnant individuals included, the decision
to get vaccinated was not necessarily an easy one.
In tackling the information on the topic, it is important to consider
the concerns pregnant
people have when it comes to vaccinations,
and the varying perspectives that exist on the issue.
Some people will describe the decision to get vaccinated as
a familial decision.
One news article recently
highlighted the experiences of two people who approached the question
of being vaccinated as a familial decision,
but had two different outcomes.
Others who chose against vaccination may cite reasons such as
lack of studies pertaining to the long-term effects on the
health of the baby.
This may stem from past examples on how medications being
recommended to pregnant individuals inadvertently
caused side effects for the baby.
One such example includes Thalidomide which was intended to
alleviate morning sickness during pregnancy,
but ended up having serious consequences for the child.
There are also those who have chosen not to get
vaccinated and rely on the experiences of others.
They listen to stories in the media of pregnant individuals who
contract COVID-19 but recount an easy recovery.
Others may have based their decision on information presented in the media.
But, the fact is that just because something is published
in a news article or spread through social media,
does not mean it is true.
In fact,
a lot of the most popular information regarding pregnant individuals
and COVID-19 is based on misinformation or exaggerated statements.
We will discuss two of the most common myths that
were propagated in the media as well as the true
scientific standpoint behind such statements.
One myth concerning the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant woman
was that it will make them infertile.
In December 2020, a blog post titled
"Head of Pfizer Research: COVID vaccine is sterilization"
references a petition made by Dr. Wodarg
and Dr. Yeadon to Europe's Medicines Agency.
Within this post,
it was said that the vaccine contains a spike protein called syncytin-1,
vital for the formation of the human placenta.
if the vaccine works
so that we form an immune response against the spike protein,
we are also training the female body to attack syncytin-1
in the placenta which could lead to infertility in women.
Saying that the COVID vaccine will cause infertility is a
bold statement, and one made without any supporting evidence.
After this blog post,
thousands went to social media, spreading this misinformation, leading
many people who want children in the future, as well as
pregnant individuals and their families to become hesitant of the vaccine.
Though tempting to believe, the fact that the female body
will attack the placenta and therefore lead to infertility is in fact
FALSE! Research conducted by immunologists prove that there is actually
no significant similarity between the amino acids of the SARS-
Co-V-2 spike protein and syncytin-1.
The syncytin-1 protein
is made up of 538 amino acids.
However,
a Pfizer spokesperson confirmed that the protein targeted by their vaccine
only shares a sequence of FOUR amino acids with syncytin-1,
which is too short to cause autoimmunity problems.
Given this information, woman can have confidence that the vaccine
won't cause their antibodies to attack their own placenta.
Another myth that has been circulating around social media is
that the COVID-19 vaccine leads to miscarriages.
This myth originated from a preliminary study done in the
New England Medical Journal,
but went viral when their findings were misinterpreted by the public.
Various tweets and news articles spun the information,
which led to the popular statement that pregnant women who
received the COVID-19 vaccine have a miscarriage rate of 82%.
That being said,
people forgot to highlight the fact that these numbers and
data came from a preliminary study with a small group of participants.
This means that the data from the study are not
an accurate representation of what would happen to every pregnant
woman who got the vaccine.
In other words,
the results are skewed by the small sample size.
In the review titled “Are COVID-19 vaccines safe in pregnancy?”
by Victoria Male, the researchers studied
the clinical trial data from Pfize-Biotech,
Moderna, and AstraZeneca and reported that woman who got pregnant
during the clinical trials
of the vaccine had similar rates of miscarriages compared to
the women who weren't administered the vaccine.
This indicates that the event of a miscarriage is not
correlated with getting vaccinated for COVID-19.
These findings are also supported by a systematic review written
by Falsaperla and his colleagues.
If you are worried about experiencing adverse effects that may
negatively affect your baby, studies in animals
receiving a Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson
COVID-19 vaccine before or during pregnancy found
no safety concerns in pregnant animals or their babies.
In comparing pregnant people who
received a COVID-19 vaccine with those who did not,
scientists found that vaccination actually lowered the risk of infection.
And should pregnant women contract COVID-19,
those who are vaccinated are less likely to become severely ill.
This is why getting vaccinated does not just protect you,
but your baby as well.
For anyone who receives a COVID-19 vaccine,
their bodies will build antibodies against coronavirus.
This is the same whether you are pregnant or not.
In a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
it was discovered that for mothers who had been vaccinated,
coronavirus antibodies were found in their infants' umbilical cord blood,
indicating that the antibodies in the mother can transfer to the baby's blood.
This means COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy can help
protect babies against COVID-19.
When infants are born,
they are exposed to a variety of viruses, bacteria, and infections.
They are born with an immature immune system and rely
on their mothers to transfer immunity,
either through the placenta or breast milk.
The antibodies transferred through the placenta only last
for one year, but the antibodies transferred through the breast milk
play a crucial role in developing the baby's innate immunity,
which is their first line of defense against germs and bacteria.
Breastfeeding is related to various positive outcomes in babies.
For example,
there is decreased respiratory infection,
less burden of diarrheal disease,
and decreased long-term risk of developing asthma,
diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.
A study was carried out to test whether the coronavirus antibodies
are transferred from mother to baby through breast milk.
The breast milk was collected before administering
the COVID-19 vaccine, and once a week for six weeks
starting at two weeks after the first vaccination dose.
The results showed that the level of antibodies in the
breast milk were significantly high two weeks after the first dose.
Though promising, further studies must be conducted in order
to test how effectively the antibodies are transferred from the
breast milk to the infant's blood.
We understand that this was a lot of information to digest.
If you are pregnant, we encourage you to talk to your OBGYN
to make the best decision for you.
We had the opportunity to interview the Chair of the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University.
Dr. Jon Barrett.
He is also the Co-Chair of the Ontario Task Force
on Managing COVID-19 in Pegnancy and Newborns.
Here's what he had to say!
Question // From your perspective, what are some of the reasons
pregnant people are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccination?
Answer // Well, that's a good question.
Overall, don't forget we're dealing with an issue of vaccine hesitancy
generally in the population, and it varies in
different populations and different social demographic groups.
And I don't think we understand what makes up the
vaccine hesitancy overall.
I think it's probably different in every population and in every group.
When you add pregnancy to that mix I think there's some generalizability.
I think most pregnant people are inherently anxious about taking
stuff into their bodies and that could be foodstuffs.
It certainly exists to medication and
no doubt therefore it will extend to this vaccine of which
there's so much, you know, so much fear going about as it is.
So it makes a lot of sense to me
that of all the reasons for vaccine hesitatncy,
whatever they are and in whichever population,
that when you throw pregnancy into the mix,
there will be an exaggeration of that effect simply because of,
you know, pregnant people are naturally concerned
about what they put into their bodies.
Question // What are the benefits for
a pregnant individual if they become vaccinated?
Answer // So, I mean, for the premise, we have to understand that
the COVID vaccine benefits you whether you're not pregnant.
The rate of getting ill from the disease,
and probably even contracting the disease,
is far far less if you're vaccinated. So we know that.
Now, pregnant people,
if you get COVID, are at a significantly higher risk
than non-pregnant for ending up in ICU and even worse.
So, therefore,
any effect the vaccine has is magnified in prengancy because pregnant
people are at increased risk from COVID and there's no doubt about it
The data is clear now, it is. So pregnant people are at
increase risk for severe disease and therefore,
obviously will benefit from the vaccine which prevents severe disease.
Question // What are the benefits for the fetus
if their mother gets vaccinated while pregnant?
Answer // Now you ask about the baby.
So whenever you have a sick mom you have a sick baby.
So it goes, its logical that
if it's going to benefit the mom it's going to benefit the baby as well.
But there are some perhaps specific benefits as well.
And that there have been studies to show that
the antibodies that the mom produces can cross to the baby and
therefore the vaccine might protect the baby as well.
Question // What types of conversations should pregnant people and their families
have with their doctors regarding vaccinations?
Answer // Frank conversations as to what are the reasons I should get the vaccine,
What are the risks? What are the potential risks?
Why are people... Why is this hesitancy there?
Frank conversations because these questions usually have a
kernel of truth somewhere. Some of them don't,
but some of them do have some kernel of truth somewhere,
some reason to be feared and most doctors who are informed
will be able to answer those risks.
If not, there's actually a COVID sort of hotline,
that I am part of a COVID group of
physicians that ... physicians can phone and
get an online consult within
I think it's three/four days from an expert who can help them.
So even if the caregiver doesn't know themselves,
there is an ability to get expert help.
And there any many organizations now,
the SOGC, Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada.
The ... midwife/midwives college, College of Midwives.
The Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health.
There are many reliable sources now that, you know,
if a caregiver is faced with a patient who's asking questions
that they don't know, they can get reliable information.
So, like most things, like most issues in pregnancy,
the pregnant person trusts their caregiver
and so they should engage that and say,
"Well why should I take it?" And most caregivers
will be able to provide these answers.
If not, those answers are readily available.
Question // Do you have a message to any pregnant people who
are hesitant about getting vaccinated?
Yeah, the message is I understand why you're hesitant.
I've been caring for pregnant people for 30 years.
And I know how precious your baby is.
And I know how careful you want to be.
But it's precisely because of that that you should go
and get the vaccine because by not taking the vaccine,
you are significantly increasing your risk for health
And you're significant increasing your baby's risk for ill health
by being born pre-term or early.
The studies are now wide and complete.
There is no risk identified and you might be saying,
"Well it hasn't been around for long enough."
That's true for this vaccine,
but we understand really well the mechanism of production of
this vaccine: It's not a live vaccine. It can't affect you.
And therefore I can't recommend strongly enough that
that you go and get the vaccine.
It could save your life.
And in fact, I have seen the opposite unfortunately,
which is very unusual for us to see that in modern day obstetrics.
A really sick woman in ICU and we've seen so much and it's almost all
In fact, it is ALL that I've seen is in unvaccinated moms.
So as a personal plea, go and get yourself vaccinated.
It's the best thing you can do for your health and the baby's health.