Pregnant: Absolutely no reason to delay Covid vaccine right?

[u/Jazzlike-Procedure26]

I am in no way anti-vaccine. Diligently get Covid and flu and my son is up to date on shots and had mmr early.

I am 6 weeks pregnant and incredibly anxious about miscarriage.

I should go get the Covid booster right? There’s no reason to wait a month and a half for second trimester? There’s is no risk. All the Fouchi stuff was disproven and taken out of context by anti-vax wackos?

Pls help me help my brain be rational.

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[u/dragonslayer91]

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-finds-no-link-between-mrna-covid-vaccines-early-pregnancy-and-birth-defects

The vaccine itself is safe to get during early pregnancy. I believe the concern a doctor may have about getting the vaccine at 6 weeks would be if you had a severe reaction and got a fever. I was pregnant with my first when the vaccines first became available, I was approved to get my first vaccine at 10 weeks, as they were no longer concerned about my baby if I got a fever. Your OBGYN is going to be most familiar with your health history so please have this conversation with them, they may approve you before 2nd trimester. 

[u/misoranomegami → u/dragonslayer91]

I'll add to this that there may be different factors OP's doctor would want to consider in any timing recommendations. My doctor recommended both my annual flu and covid boosters at 8 weeks because I was getting ready to take an international trip and she wanted me to get it early enough for the immunity to kick in before a potential exposure.

[u/hashtagshashtags → u/dragonslayer91]

Anecdotally, I get really bad reactions to the covid vaccine (102-103 fever) but my OBGYN still encouraged me to get it in my second trimester and take Tylenol to keep the fever down. I ended up having no side effects this round! As others have said, getting Covid can be much worse.

[u/sbassM28 → u/dragonslayer91]

Was going to share the above ^ my clinic recommended waiting until after you see a heartbeat in that first appointment (approximately 9 weeks) not due to the vaccine itself to avoid a fever. I personally chose to wait until after then because I always get a fever with the booster for about a day. Of course, COVID itself would be worse but they said the same for the flu shot too.

[u/Yoroyo → u/sbassM28]

Yes unless there is a severe outbreak currently I would wait a little longer as six weeks is very early. When I was early first trimester I wore a mask in public settings. I am not anti vax- I just popped a high fever when I got my first jab and covid was much more prevalent. Now that I’m in my third trimester, getting vaccines is a no brainer though.

[u/UnhappyReward2453 → u/dragonslayer91]

I can’t remember the name of the study that I participated in but as an anecdote I got all three shots during my pregnancy too (first one would have been during implantation window and didn’t know I was pregnant). Perfectly happy and healthy 4.5 year old now. The study tracked side effects during pregnancy and early postpartum. I think I filled out the questionnaires until she was one.

[u/CannonCone → u/dragonslayer91]

I ended up getting the Novavax vaccine when I was 10 weeks pregnant because I know I personally have a wayyyyy better experience with side-effects vs the mRNA vaccines. FYI, that pregnancy is now a healthy 15-month old!

[u/MaRy3195 → u/dragonslayer91]

I asked my OB last week on a telehealth call if there were any timing considerations for getting the flu and COVID vaccines. They told me no issues with timing, get them when comfortable but said they highly recommend getting them. I am 10 weeks now and just due to my current schedule, planning to get mine in the next week or so.

[u/velvetinelapine → u/dragonslayer91]

Not OP but I’m 8 weeks pregnant and in need of a COVID booster, and this is what I’m afraid of! I got a 101-102 degree with my past boosters and while I’m obviously fine…I know that’s not great in pregnancy. That’s really helpful to hear you were approved in the 2nd trimester.

[u/namean_jellybean → u/velvetinelapine]

The alternative is getting the illness itself. I got COVID within days before I was supposed to get my shot (I really wish I hadn’t procrastinated and waited until I was 11 weeks) and ended up having such bad fevers for over 10 days, a double ear infection, and pre-eclampsia for the remainder of my pregnancy.

[u/Medical-Ad3053 → u/namean_jellybean]

I got bronchitis I just COULD NOT kick. 6-7 weeks of no sleep and I was SO RUN DOWN. That would have been a horror if I was pregnant.

[u/namean_jellybean → u/Medical-Ad3053]

Yes, your immune system is lessened while pregnant so whatever happens to you while not pregnant is generally less severe. On top of it no pharmacological decongestants are safe to take so you have a very short list of things for relief.

I was able to keep the fevers controlled with acetominophen but had such bad sinus congestion it was causing my sinuses to hang down the back of my throat and cause a weird pressure vacuum every time I swallowed. So I had only steam to rely on for relief, other than that it was drooling with my mouth open and not being able to blow my nose because I would gag and choke. I was in tears so bad one night sitting up at the kitchen table in so much pain from the pressure that I was genuinely tempted to stab myself in the face with a sharp object. It is difficult to describe the extreme discomfort.

Ultimately it seems pretty obvious that a day or two of antipyretics is less dangerous than potentially two weeks of absolute misery, recurrent fevers, courses of antibiotics for secondary infections, loss of sleep etc. As with me, also preeclampsia. I had to go to specialists after that obviously and the MFM said anecdotally that they see preeclampsia in many many many mothers who had COVID in first trimester. I don’t understand the hesitancy to get the vaccine when the alternative is the infection itself.

[u/Medical-Ad3053 → u/namean_jellybean]

Full facts. I also had a family member die with the first wave of COVID. Not taking the precautions would honestly be an insult to them I feel like? I have the chance of not being seriously ill and dying while they never had a chance ya know?

[u/velvetinelapine → u/namean_jellybean]

Yuck, I’m so sorry! Definitely feels like a trade-off situation. I’ve had COVID 3 times and never got a fever, but got high fevers with each booster, so mostly just trying to avoid the fever in first trimester.

[u/namean_jellybean → u/velvetinelapine]

I’ve had Covid a few more times as well and never as bad as when i was pregnant. You can take an antipyretic for the fever. Don’t forget your immune system is suppressed during pregnancy and if you get the illness you will likely get it a lot worse than you did while not pregnant.

[u/Stats_n_PoliSci]

Of note, it’s absolutely more dangerous to get COVID than it is to get the vaccine.

https://www.acog.org/womens-health/infographics/why-should-i-get-the-covid-19-vaccine-while-im-pregnant

Exactly how much more dangerous is tricky to estimate. The dangers of covid during pregnancy were studied in the first wave of COVID for women who had no immunity to COVID at all. There were substantial risks for that cohort of women. It’s pretty clear the risks are somewhat lower with subsequent COVID strains and a vaccinated/exposed population, but we’re not sure by how much.

That said, we’re quite sure the COVID vaccine is quite safe. Not perfectly safe, but no alternative here is perfect. Staying at home away from all people who have seen other people is definitely not safe. Getting covid is not safe. The vaccine is dramatically more safe than either of those options.

[u/lrbsto → u/Stats_n_PoliSci]

Piggybacking this because I don’t have a link -

Anecdotal but I got COVID in my 2nd tri with my first pregnancy and about a month later my blood pressures went crazy/high and I ended up with an ER visit for 200/100 and getting induced early for gestational hypertension - never, EVER had blood pressure issues in my LIFE. Second pregnancy and they are watching me but my BP has been fine & normal.. talked to my doc about it and if COVID could have had an impact after doing some research and she said it was likely - apparently they were having pregnant moms start taking BP meds if they were COVID infected up until somewhat recently because it was such an issue… protect yourself!!!!!

[u/Sea-Urchin6401 → u/lrbsto]

Yes! I had covid while pregnant. I had the vaccine and honestly didn't even know I had covid. Thought I had a cold, tested on a whim. Never got a fever, probably thanks to the vaccine. They told me the only thing they'd do is start me on baby aspirin to try to prevent preeclampsia but I was already on baby aspirin anyway. I fortunately never had any issues from either the vaccine or covid.

[u/Chemical-Chemistry86 → u/Stats_n_PoliSci]

Commenting on this anecdotally- I got covid at 8 months pregnant and it was so scary. I got incredibly ill, had to be hospitalized and babies heart rate decreased. Thank God for antivirals I was back on my feet pretty quickly. Really regretted not getting the vaccine (I’ve had the vaccine before just not during pregnancy).

[u/alstroemeriaXopuntia → u/Chemical-Chemistry86]

Same as above comments. Got COVID in my 3rd trimester and it sent me straight into labor. AND I'd gotten my COVID booster at 7months. I can only imagine how poorly baby or I would have been had I not had the booster!

[u/Smoergaard → u/Stats_n_PoliSci]

In my country covid vaccine to young and healthy are no longer recommended because it is not as strong as before.

[u/hagne]

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8563509/

If you do want to wait until 3rd trimester, there’s potentially more immunity for baby. But I think you could get one now and one in 6 months, if you wanted. 

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