It is important that pregnant women must take precautions against covid-19 and protect themselves from acquiring coronavirus. This includes taking vaccination against coronavirus. Pregnancy does not increase the risk of COVID-19 infection and while most pregnant women will be asymptomatic or have a mild disease, their health may deteriorate rapidly and that might affect the fetus too. It is therefore advised that a pregnant woman should take COVID-19 vaccines.
For most infected pregnant women hospitalization is not needed and they recover without it but rapid deterioration in health may occur in a few. Pregnant women who are symptomatic are at an increased risk of severe disease and death.
If there is a case of a severe disease then pregnant women may also need hospitalization like all other patients. Females with underlying medical conditions e.g., high blood pressure, have a history of clotting in the limbs, diabetes, obesity, age over 35 years are at a higher risk of severe illness due to COVID-19 during pregnancy and developing complications after COVID-19 .
Why Pregnant Women Should Get Vaccinated?
For women who have conceived recently or in their last trimester, getting a COVID-19 vaccine can help protect you from severe illness from COVID-19 as they have more chances of getting infected and fall ill with COVID-19 compared with people who are not pregnant. It is highly advised by health professionals that people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or have plans of conceiving in the future must get the vaccine.
Women who are already expecting may receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. There is a growth in evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. As for now the existing benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy when the data is to be considered.
Vaccine And It’s Implications In Pregnant Women
The COVID-19 vaccines which are available are safe and protect pregnant women against illness or disease just like it would protect many other individuals. Talking about the cons, the vaccine may have side effects have multiple other medicines, which are normally mild. One can experience mild fever, pain at the injection site or feel unwell for 1-3 days. There has been no establishment of long-term adverse effects and the vaccine can be used safely without worrying for the health of the foetus and child.
In very rare cases say one among 5 lakh women who are pregnant may experience some of the symptoms mentioned below within 20 days of getting vaccinated. These symptoms require immediate action so the situation does not worsen
- Chest pain
- Abdominal pain which is persistent
- Difficulty in breathing, swelling or pain in limbs
- If the skin is bruised beyond the injection site
- Weakness of any particular side of the body or limb
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Persistent headache which is severe
- Pain in eyes or blurred vision
Some pregnant women may not experience any side effects at all but it does not mean that the ineffectiveness of vaccine is displayed or it didn’t work or your body’s immune system. Pregnant or not each person is naturally bound to have a varying immune response to the vaccine.
The above mentioned prominent side effects will also subside on their own after a few days. The body needs a few weeks’ time to build immunity against the virus after getting the vaccine so pregnant women must bear in mind that there are chances of them getting affected by the virus even after the vaccination.
Individual steps should be taken towards foremost safety and appropriate precautions must be taken after getting the vaccine to ensure that you remain safe from the virus. Until your body has had enough time to build up immunity against the corona virus, strict actions should be taken to avoid getting infected by the virus.
Pregnant women and their family members shall also follow and practice the required protocols and procedures to avoid contracting the corona virus even after getting vaccinated.
Should Pregnant Women Receive Booster Shots?
According to doctors and health professionals, pregnant women and women who are trying to conceive should receive their booster shots as soon as possible. You can get a booster shot as soon as you’re eligible, meaning if you’re 35 weeks pregnant or 6 weeks pregnant or trying to conceive.
So by chance if any female is pregnant and she wasn’t vaccinated for COVID-19 then now it’s important that you get the shot right away. Those pregnant females who contract the virus during pregnancy also face a higher risk of preterm birth and stillbirth and pregnant women who are unvaccinated are at risk. They are also at increased risk for illness which is severe.
Although there have been concerns about the effect of vaccination on pregnant women due which vaccination has further lagged but the fact that vaccine causes any harm to the mother or baby has not surfaced yet. There has been no evidence about it. All health professionals like obsterician, gynaecologists recommended pregnant women to get booster shot as soon as possible.
If Health professionals are to be believed there has been none evidence which indicates that vaccine or booster causes miscarriage, stillbirth or any type of infertility in women. But one thing that they know is that vaccine may prove to be lifesaving for pregnant women. If there are any long-term effects, they are still not known. Also the information and data signals that pregnant woman having COVID-19 vaccine can prevent danger on pregnant women and their developing baby from corona virus.
Conclusion
Women and people in general who received their last dose five months ago are eligible to get vaccinated with booster shots for covid-19. Women who are pregnant, when vaccinated make antibodies that cross the placenta, enter the baby’s bloodstream and offer some protection to the baby after birth. Like for instance women who are pregnant receive the Tdap vaccine typically early in the third trimester, to later protect their vulnerable new-borns from whooping cough.
References
healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/when-to-get-your-covid-19-booster-if-youre-pregnant-or-trying-to-conceive/
health.clevelandclinic.org/should-pregnant-women-get-covid-booster
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/the-covid19-vaccine-and-pregnancy-what-you-need-to-know?amp=true
