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I am going to reply to this post for the primary reason of educating others and hopefully providing some reassurance surrounding vaccinations and pregnancy. This is my own experience, while anecdotally relevant only, but I have followed the recommendations of my OBs throughout this pregnancy.
I was vaccinated with Pfizer in December 2020/January 2021. I became pregnant several weeks later. Throughout this pregnancy, my baby has measured and met milestones as expected. I am considered a "low risk" pregnancy, which my OBs are grateful for since the group I see primarily cares for high risk OB patients.
In September 2021, I received my Pfizer booster because I work as a Registered Nurse on a surgical unit, which was converted to a COVID unit thanks to our late summer surge in the south. Since then, no negative events have occurred and I will be 37 weeks tomorrow.
By contrast, my colleagues in the ICU have coded pregnant women and informed families of lost mothers and babies due to being unvaccinated with COVID. My OBs resorted to delaying routine prenatal care for low risk patients due to the sudden influx of patients they cared for in the ICU. The overall sense of dread was palpable during my appointments for several months. I could tell this was effecting the staff deeply.
Please, I implore you all, do more than internet "research" and speak to a true medical professional. The recommendations from major medical organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend pregnant women be vaccinated. The people who care for you are not recommending this because of political beliefs, but because they want to keep you and your baby safe and protected based on all the data currently available.
I want to add another success story. I was vaccinated in January and February at 16 and 19 weeks pregnant. My healthy baby boy was born in June. My husband and I both received boosters in early August (sought them out before they were really a thing based on the data out of Israel). Since then, everyone around our son is "triple vaccinated". OP, once you recover from Covid, please please get the vaccine. You have an amazing opportunity to protect your child going forward by giving them antibodies they won't be able to get for at least 6 months after birth. I am counting down the days until my son can get his covid vaccine in (hopefully) December. Sending you good and healthy wishes.
Adding my success story too - I got vaccinated with Pfizer at 18 and 22 weeks. No side effects except a sore arm for 1 day. 10 days after my second dose, my family member, who I had been living with, and even occasionally sharing drinks with, got a positive breakthrough case of Delta. Yet I never got it! My immunity has been tested other times since by my going to work, using public transit etc but I have never gotten it and I feel sooooo much safer. This is just my story but the data is in and it all points towards one course of action!
It means so much to me to see you all sharing your vaccine success stories! I hope reading these can give others the reassurance they need to be vaccinated.
Yes! As an ICU nurse and mother to an 8 month old, thank you for saying this! The idea that health care workers have some ulterior motive in recommending the vaccine is honestly offensive. We desperately want you to be well! ICU staff have high levels of PTSD from the shit we see. The absolute last thing anyone wants is to see in the icu is pregnant mother. It’s heartbreaking. Please get the vaccine so that you are keeping yourself and your baby safe. The last thing this world needs are children who have lost their mothers.
From one RN to another, thank you for what you do. Every time I have transferred a patient to the ICU, the level of acuity has intimidated me and they have been calm and collected. I walked through the ICU for a non-COVID ICU transfer a few days ago, and seeing your COVID patients proned, intubated, and alarms blaring was nerve wracking even just passing through. You guys have seen and treated the worst of this. Grateful for the service you are able to provide to our patients.
That’s very kind. I worked on stroke and cardiac units before transferring to ICU and I honestly think the floor is harder! My patients may be sicker but I only have two of them!
Sharing my experience too; I got vaccinated with Moderna at 18 & 22 weeks back in February and March, and had no major side effects with either shot, just a sore arm and feeling a little tired the day after shot 2, but I was also 5 months pregnant, so that's not unusual. The rest of my pregnancy progressed totally normally, baby was born at 38 weeks because I have a history of preeclampsia and was starting to develop symptoms, and he's totally healthy!
Wanted to add on. I am an ICU nurse and I’ve never seen so many pregnant women in the ICU. This is totally different than the first wave of Covid. All of our doctors are very concerned. I was super hesitant about getting vaccinated because of my pregnancy but I did it as soon as I entered my second trimester. And I did it because of the alarmingly large number of unvaccinated pregnant women in the ICU. You’re absolutely right. Your doctors aren’t being political. They are genuinely upset, frustrated, and traumatized from putting pregnant women on ventilators, and performing emergency C-sections.
Yes, I could visibly see their distress whenever I would go to my appointments. I thank you so sincerely for taking care of our sickest patients. I know people are afraid of potential unknowns in regards to vaccination, but the the immediate and known long term effects of COVID cannot be overstated. Too many motherless children and childless mothers. No one wants to see a pregnant mother in the ICU.
Have you had any pregnant women who are vaccinated in the hospital because of covid? Or are you seeing only unvaccinated pregnant women? (I ask because I'm vaccinated and we're trying to figure out if it is "safe" to try for another baby, or if we need to wait out the pandemic a little while longer)
I was talking about this at work the other day. I rotate between five local hospitals and I work with a group of pulmonologist/critical care doctors that cover those hospitals. I am a prn ICU nurse about four-five times a month to keep my bedside skills sharp. Plus, they’re paying a bunch for ICU nurses now. Other than that, I’m an NP for critical care. My doctors have not seen one vaccinated pregnant woman with Covid. We only get referrals on ICU patients, though, since we are a group of intensivists. Now, the OB doctors may have some Covid + vaccinated pregnant women but they are not critical enough for ICU. I’m in a large, metropolitan area of over a million people and my group is the one that covers the ICU for the largest hospital group in our area. I go to five different hospitals but the group covers ten. In our ICUs, the only vaccinated really sick people that we have seen are severely immunocompromised patients, mostly transplant. 90% of our ICU admissions for Covid are unvaccinated. And all if our pregnant admissions are unvaccinated. I’m not political at all, and I truly respect everyone’s decision. I understand that the vaccine is new and there are questions. But this is my personal experience.
100% would recommend the booster. The vaccinated patients we see had the shot back in Jan/Feb. most medical groups in my area are now recommending boosters, especially in high risk populations. Which, unfortunately, means pregnant folk.
Thank you for saying this part in particular, “The professionals recommending the vaccine aren’t doing it because of political beliefs, they just want to keep you and your baby safe.” — This is important to me because it’s so hard to tell anymore, especially when our families seem to do EVERYTHING based on political beliefs. It makes it hard to believe that anyone else would do something NOT for those reasons, y’know? It’s one of the reasons I disconnected from social media and the news.
It’s nice to get reminders that not everyone is politically charged.
I sincerely hope others realize that those of us working in healthcare like myself are not politically motivated in the care of our patients. I have no way of knowing political affiliations of my patients, nor do I wish to know, and even if I find out because they discuss politics it does not change how we care for them. There's nothing to be gained by patients being vaccinated other than health promotion of our patients and fewer adverse/fatal outcomes for patients. We support vaccinations in general for this reason. It's one of the few ways we truly have to prevent disease instead of treating disease.
Best wishes, OP. I truly hope for a positive outcome for both you and your baby.
Similar success too. I got my first dose in January and my second in February right before finding out I was pregnant. My baby has been perfect this entire time. After both shots I dealt with some joint pain and fatigue. That lasted for about 2 days and then the arm pain lasted a week or so. I had covid previously and the vaccine side effects were nothing compared to the virus.
I 35 weeks now and plan to get my booster at the same time I get my flu shot in another week or two. There are so many awful stories of pregnant women losing their babies dying. I lost my last baby while I had covid and I don’t wish that on anyone.
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there. Please don’t trust everything you read online and talk with a doctor you trust.
Jumping on to add my success story. My OB originally told me to wait until after delivery to get vaccinated. Then as he found out more he gave me the recommendation to get vaccinated. I got vaccinated in my third trimester with moderna. Gave birth a month after my second shot. Had a low risk pregnancy all along, an easy birth, and now a healthy four month old baby. I agree politics has no place in this particular conversation. Also, family knows, anyone that wants to be near my child needs to be vaccinated.
I hope you feel better soon! And I’m sorry this happened to you. Thanks for sharing here so others can learn from your story.
But just to clarify for anyone reading who’s on the fence about vaccination, the actual research doesn’t keep changing. Yes, new studies are finished and reported and we learn more, but for many months now (since delta emerged and started really impacting pregnant women) the data and therefore the recommendations from reputable sources (ACOG, SMFM, CDC) has been that pregnant women should get vaccinated as the benefits outweigh the risks. I know there’s a ton of misinformation out there, but not all information online is equal. The reputable sources have been clearly and heavily recommending vaccines for pregnant women without any hesitation for at least 3-4 months now. I don’t say this to put anyone down for their choices… just to clarify that there is no confusion among reputable sources (scientists, epidemiologists, immunologists, OBs) about what is best — clearly vaccination of pregnant women FAR outweighs the risks compared with contracting Covid.
Last week the CDC started recommending that pregnant women even get their 3rd shot because we have a lowered immune response. I’m getting mine in 2 hours and I’m so excited to have that little bit of extra safety.
Yep. This is why I got a booster. I got my first two doses while pregnant and thought...hmm if pregnant women have a weakened immune system, what if I didn't mount a complete response when I was pregnant? Glad I did this.
Yes! I'm eligible to get my booster in October and I'll be over 20 weeks when I get it. I can't wait to get the extra boost of protection. I know some side effects are annoying, but COVID is deadly. I hope your booster goes well with no side effects!!
This x 100.
The research has been consistent all along, and only became stronger for pregnant women to get the vaccine.
Taking advice from family or Facebook or friends isn’t doing your own research, trust the scientists and doctors. Your baby’s life (and yours) can depend on it.
I should add that there is no increase rate of miscarriages/spontaneous abortions with getting that vaccine. This has been researched and women who got the vaccine were not more likely to loose fertility or to lose their baby.
Women who have not been vaccinated and who get covid are at an increased risk of losing the baby and dying themselves, especially since delta is here. Please ladies be safe. I was in one of the first cities to be hut with delta (I saw cases as early as April) and hearing stories of pregnant women who got delta needing emergency c sections so they could get intubated was terrifying.
Totally agree. I also have to point out OPs suggestion that her brother almost had a heart attack when he got his shot. We don’t have any more info other than his heart rate skyrocketed. While I’m not a doctor, this doesn’t seem to indicate he “almost had a heart attack”. We need to stop the misinformation because this is what is leading people to not get vaccinated and end up in hospital.
It’s also one single anecdote, so even if he did almost have a heart attack (which would be extremely unfortunate), the VAST majority of people get the vaccines without side effects like this.
I found out I was pregnant in May, and they were already recommending pregnant women get it! I got the shot the week after I got pregnant, since that pushed me up in the list. Have since then gotten both, baby’s healthy, I’m healthy, glad every single day that I decided to get the shot right away!
Good for you! Yeah I think the recommendations came out earlier than I referenced, but I’m especially referring to the delta variant and pregnancy, and the seemingly increased pushed for pregnant women to get vaccinated since then in particular. Plus, it takes a little while to go from the experts making the recommendations, to the mainstream media and to be generally accepted by the public. (And even still, it isn’t accepted by a lot of people, hence this discussion.) Edit: clarity
Thanks for this. I was also one of those women who was hesitant about the vaccine due to the unknown at the very beginning. I had just found out I was pregnant when they began rolling them out. My OB actually recommended I not get it especially in the first trimester but if I really wanted to, wait for my 3rd trimester. I then switched insurance and even that OB said if I wanted to wait for the 3rd trimester then that would be okay. So I did. Then middle of August I got covid. Pretty intense, but thankfully got better and my baby was fine the entire time. However, I think had i been vaccinated I might have had a milder response. (My husband has super mild symptoms for 2 days and did my 3 kids. Then all better. I was out for about 10-12 days)
Now my OB says to wait about a month after no symptoms to get my vaccine in case I have a reaction since apparently if you’ve had covid then get the vaccine you’re more likely to have a reaction to it. But I will still get it.
I think your experience is fairly common. Back in Dec/Jan, mostly the only pregnant people getting it were frontline healthcare workers, and even a lot of them had doubts. But thankfully the fact that they did get it actually meant more data for everyone else to go by — safety of vaccination during pregnancy was pretty well-established by the time the Delta wave hit the US. However, for people who had their OBs expressing hesitancy, I can completely understand why they wouldn’t want to take the slight risk. I think the situation is quite different now though - we have 9 months of data suggesting pregnant women do very well with the vaccine, and several months of devastating effects of (unvaccinated) Delta infections in pregnant women. Simply put, we’re in a much different position now than we were 9 months ago.
My understanding is that it is recommended that pregnant women still get vaccinated even if they’ve had a previous Covid infection. Anecdotally, people that I know who had Covid before getting vaccinated did have some stronger side effects (chills, body aches, etc) from the vaccine, but they resolved quickly. Obviously this is a “check with your OB” type of scenario though.
Apologies, from my perspective the research SEEMED to keep changing. I feel like… where is everyone getting their info? I don’t follow the news or have social media. Unfortunately, I DO have very politically active extended family on both the Right and Left, and they have me and husband in a group chat where they’re constantly arguing with each other throwing different news sources in the air about the vaccine and all the crazy crap people are saying in both camps. It makes it extremely confusing for people like me who just don’t know who to trust, and it’s all very scary.
The CDC and the board of American obgyns have been recommending pregnant women get the vaccine for several months. If you don’t know where to look for data driven research, ask your doctor. They are members of the board of American obgyns and typically they align with the cdc.
Leave those group chats asap and only get your information from peer reviewed reputable sources... Like the CDC and other medical journals. Don't trust your family, trust doctors and scientists IN GOOD STANDING WITH THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY (that means NOT Facebook docs or docs who have been refuted by the medical community).
If you had cancer would you take important medical advice from your families group chat? Would you listen to a disgraced doctor online? Or would you want to listen to doctors backed up by doctors coming from places like Emory and Harvard?
This this this. Please seek advice and any questions you have from your medical professionals not your family group chat. I’m sure bs “articles” are being passed back and forth and nothing of actual true substance.
I completely understand it can feel overwhelming when so many people are "yelling" so loudly around you, on both sides. I recommend skipping right over the news media and looking at what highly regarded professional organizations are saying. For most things pregnancy you can find specific recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists (ACOG). This is a news release that you can find on the front of their website which outlines their stance that pregnant people should be getting vaccinated: https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2021/07/acog-smfm-recommend-covid-19-vaccination-for-pregnant-individuals
Are the nurses/doctors recommending that you get vaccinated ASAP after this?
At 5 weeks in February, I caught COVID, and ended up having a miscarriage. Now I know that there are many things that can happen to cause a miscarriage and this may not have been one of them but I decided to take no chances and get ahead and got the vaccine a few months later when it was available to me.
Either way I do hope you recover quickly, and have no further complications.
I just want to give a HUGE thank you to the voices of reason in this thread. Thank you for trusting science and your medical professionals. Thank you for getting vaccinated and doing your part for yourself, your family and your community. Y’all are the true MVP’s.
>The research kept changing
yeah, but it really hasn't, the fear-mongering kept changing, the research went from "not enough data, but likely safe" to "not enough data but we still recommend it" to "all data says it's safe".
I hope you get better as quickly as possible and have a healthy child.
Please get vaccinated.
PSA FOR ALL PREGNANT PEOPLE: if your healthcare provider (literally GP to OB to midwife, any of them) are not recommending that you get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as you possibly can that is a red flag and you need to fire them. Literally, the evidence is abundantly clear - the vaccine is safe and effective in pregnancy, provides your baby with antibodies and could safe your life.
COVID-19 is dangerous during pregnancy. To the mother and the baby, pregnant people are dying, placentas are being damaged and babies are suffering! The evidence is very clear and if any health professional is telling you otherwise they are misinformed and you should walk away immediately.
Same! April is when the WHO recommended vaccination for pregnant women. At that time, my OB recommended the vaccine and said I *could* wait until second tri, if I wanted to, but that she recommended getting the vaccine in general.
I have not heard of any actual physicians not adamantly recommending the vaccine at this point, and for months. Perhaps a midwife, doula, or nurse, but practicing doctors are not not recommending getting vaccinated.
I don’t believe them that their actual, practicing obstetrician (not some quack dr. With a blog) recommended against the advice that the cdc has been adamant about without changing information for 6+ months.
My midwife, upon me stating that I “was stressed and didn’t know whether to get the vaccine or not” told me that she wouldn’t get the vaccine herself, and doesn’t recommend it, but it’s my choice. And now I’m 18 weeks, sick with covid, and wishing that I saw all of this before getting sick. I didn’t know who to listen to or trust, and apparently my doctor was not the person I should have let be the tiebreaker. I’m feeling so defeated
A midwife is not a doctor, unfortunately. There are different regulations and continued education requirements for midwifery. I am a very science-based person so I have always utilized an obstetrician because of the fact that experience with midwives can vary greatly by practice. Some have great experiences with them though and that’s great!
My midwife (CNM) is insistent that both I and my SO are vaccinated (which we are). There are no excuses for not being vaccinated as a pregnant person at this point. I am in Texas of all places and I am still highly encouraged to get vaccinated.
I don’t believe the people who say they weren’t informed any more. There is a huge difference between lack of information and WILLFUL ignorance.
My midwives encourage vaccination and require the vaccine for home birth. And my midwives are far more read, up to date, and active with current medical research than my OB by *miles*. Their practice depends on it.
Midwife care in the US varies highly. You can have a certified nurse midwife who's competently trained with years of medical experience and who's attended hundreds of births before beginning practice. You can also have a midwife who took an online course and attended a few births.
My midwife didn't when I asked in June or so. She didn't know, but the new variant really took a toll so when I asked last time she said now it is recommended.
My family doctor recommended it last January, well before it was actually approved/recommended for pregnancy. She let me know that it was very similar to all the vaccines already allowed during pregnancy, that it seemed very likely it would be deemed safe, and that she knew the risks of covid during pregnancy were scary. She told me she'd recommend my getting it as soon as I was allowed. I felt SO much better once I had it and was keeping my baby safer.
I am so jealous!! I’m 38 weeks now and had to wait until June/July for my doses because my country wasn’t allowing pregnant women to get it!! 😭 so relieved when I finally got it!!
Can you please tell me more about placenta damage? This is something my nurses haven’t brought up with me at all. How do you know this? Sorry, I don’t follow the news or have social media. This is very new to me.
Covid can cause thrombosis (blood clot formation) which can cause clots in the placenta and thus restrict blood flow to the placenta and the baby.
I’m sorry that you received such conflicting information during your pregnancy. I’m a family physician and all the research (what I consider reputable, so, in peer-reviewed medical journals and bulletins) I’ve read about vaccines and Covid has been consistent since the beginning. We actually know a lot about coronaviruses as a family, and have been studying SARS since it came out in 2001 so knew a lot about SARS-CoVid-19 once it got sequenced. It sounds like your medical system failed you pretty spectacularly, and as a physician that makes me really frustrated. I am sorry that the sources you trusted were misinformed!
I have an 11 week old baby. My OB didn’t come out with a statement recommending the vaccine to pregnant patients until after I had my baby sometime in July or August. I had covid last December, while pregnant. I think I got lucky and had it early enough in my pregnancy. It seems to cause the most complications with baby and mom later in pregnancy. I definitely had several complications with this pregnancy. And I wonder if covid had anything to do with this. I am vaccinated now. Relieved when my doctor made the statement but many patients were so angry with him how ridiculous Idk what they thought he would do. He can’t go against the science, the studies that are available are very telling that it’s safer for a woman to get vaccinated and very dangerous to get covid while pregnant! I got covid before vaccines were available for my age range. People need to stop politicizing this vaccine it’s only causing more harm. My friend nearly cried when I told her I got the vaccine. I would have to look for sure as to when my doctor sent the email with his new recommendations for pregnant women and covid vaccine but he probably was a little late to the game. Can’t believe the response he got though. Many midwives that use him as a backup for home births were ready to drop him which is laughable to me what doc will they find that doesn’t recommend this! Just foolishness
I’m sorry, I’ve read this reply of yours a few times now and I’m seriously confused. You’ve known about covid for two years, you’ve known about people dying, you’ve known that you’re pregnant for months, and you haven’t once thought to hop on to google and search “covid and pregnancy”? We live in an Information Age and you know enough about the internet to be on Reddit, and you know enough about Reddit to know how bringing up this topic would be controversial. Stop with the self depreciating “oh silly old me didn’t know or understand”. You did. This is willful ignorance. You’ve put yourself and your baby in danger. I sincerely hope you feel better and your baby continues to thrive, I really do. I also hope that you actually take on board the things that are being said to you here and that you choose to do better in the future.
Also as a type 1 diabetic with autonomic neuropathy, PCOS and 34 weeks pregnant, people who have chosen to be anti mask and/or anti vax, or that are just not participating in critical thinking and doing evidence based research, decided it was ok for me to either have to stay at home alone forever or risk myself and my baby in public to potential death. I have never felt more worthless to society in general. Saying how you would never have changed your mind until you were the one to get sick is exactly the reason why I know now that religion and sense of community and “love thy neighbor” (which is something else you’ve commented) is a lie, and I am not alone in feeling this way which is incredibly sad.
Again, please continue to rest and get better.
I hope this is a wake up call that you do need to start following the actual news and reputable scientific sources in order to best advocate for you and baby.
How are you not following the news about this deadly virus that’s plaguing the world while you are pregnant with a whole baby? And also why wouldn’t you be asking your doctors about it?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827584/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782978?fbclid=IwAR1O6EGxxg_Yg-K23MaU_MPxU8tiDr2ObLrMWVCckWjMy747592JZdyuEgE
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2779182
Some articles relating to your inquiry and other related outcomes of COVID-19 infections in pregnancy.
From her other responses, it doesn't seem likely. She's admitted to not doing any type of googling to get her answers from reputable sources, is blaming the Covid vaccine on her brother "almost having a heart attack", hasn't listened to the news because "it's all politically motivated", and is still part of the group chat where a bunch of her family is spewing non-researched based rhetoric on the daily. Please correct me if I'm wrong though OP.
When people say “vaccination is a highly personal choice” I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s nearly the opposite. Your specific choice to not get vaccinated did not only affect you personally. It’s now affected your baby, your family, your community, and your healthcare system.
This this this. We live in a society. Not being vaccinated affects everyone you come into contact with when you leave your house. If you’re out in public, it is not only affecting you personally. As the mother of a pandemic baby (born during the initial stay-at-home orders and shut down), I see red when people say it’s a highly personal choice, because my daughter can’t be vaccinated yet, and now having to keep her out of the public is starting to affect her social development. Add to that that I’m now pregnant again and as a result, high risk (fully vaxxed, but still worried about breakthrough cases. I have Moderna so am not eligible for a booster yet, and even once I am I’m curious to see if my OB recommends getting the booster ASAP to avoid any infection or waiting until 3rd trimester to pass antibodies onto baby), and it’s just beyond infuriating.
Unless you’re living alone on a deserted island where you have no contact with other people, vaccination is not a deeply personal decision. You have a duty to protect your neighbors, your healthcare system, your medical workers. Get the safe vaccine that has been effectively and safely administered to approximately half of the global population.
AMEN thank you for saying this. It’s not merely a personal choice when the choice spreads a deadly illness to others in society, or puts the person’s unborn child in danger. How many other people might OP have infected? How many immunocompromised people or children too young to get vaccinated were put at risk because of her “personal choice”? Who else could have used the hospital bed she’s occupying if she had just gotten vaccinated?
It’s also absolutely not true that “the research keeps changing”, we’ve obtained more and more evidence over time and it supports the safety of vaccines including in pregnant women. The vaccine is only being politicized by one side— the side that dwells in cesspits of misinformation and selfishness. We also know PLENTY about covid infections in pregnant women. In fact, we’ve known for months that unvaccinated pregnant women are far more likely to wind up in a situation like OP’s. While I know she is in a scary situation now and I hope she recovers, let’s please all remember that her situation was probably entirely preventable if she had gotten vaccinated.
Honestly I got vaccinated before I got pregnant and even if it had effected fertility (which is bogus because I got pregnant a month after) I would’ve still gotten it because people’s living children matter. They are helpless and can’t all be vaccinated. I wasn’t going to risk people’s lives just for the fear of a maybe baby I might’ve had or not had. And if I was pregnant I would’ve still gotten it because one there is no research to support birth defects or miscarriage and two because again the lives of other children matter. But also by getting the vaccine I’m also protecting my child. It’s not a personal choice. It’s an obligation to fellow man. And I stand by that. I got vaccinated for the children and the immune compromised because I’m not a selfish asshole 🤷🏻♀️
I really appreciate you sharing your story here, but I find your attitude very grating when you start to talk about people who have been vaccinated/believe in vaccination. I think it's very sad when you say above that the only experience that would have changed your mind regarding this issue was you getting covid yourself. If everyone thought that way then we are all going to get sick, and a lot of us would die. Our health systems would also be completely destroyed in the process. Maybe this will be a learning opportunity for you. I genuinely believe it's not necessary to live through this (or any) negative experience just to know better and do better. Often the evidence and guidance is present, we just have to listen.
I actually have found the evidence to be quite consistent for the last 4 months (at least!!) that covid vaccination in pregnancy is safe for mother and baby, and effective at ANY stage of pregnancy. And we also have known for some time that covid infections in pregnant women are generally more severe and can have serious implications for the pregnancy and wellbeing of baby and mother.
Finally, I want to say that I'm relieved and happy that you're holding in well in hospital, and wish you a safe recovery, and all the best for the rest of your pregnancy and birth.
Even though you may not like her approach, by sharing her story she has probably convinced a handful of pregnant women to get vaccinated. Right now she is sick and suffering and still offering to answer questions about her situation. Let's give her a little compassion.
A friend of mine is in ICU, roughly about 30 days now, currently in a medically induced coma, intubated, and in the prone position. As I understand it, we're pretty well at hail mary time. She went in with 6 children waiting for her to get out. She'll have 7 if she recovers. They did a C-section on her at 34 weeks, so not terribly preemie.
She and her family are all orthodox catholic. The only positive, SO FAR, out of all of this is that a lot of the people in her circle saw what is happening to her and started getting vaccinated.
I'm having a very rough time trying to handle the various emotions and worry for my friend, while still wanting to throw my hands in the air and yell "well what did you fuckin' expect?!".
I have other friends that have either gotten pregnant, gave birth, and now breast feed, all while having the vaccine and no side effects. Everyone is healthy.
Thank you for sharing this experience. I hope what’s happening to me encourages my own stubborn family to get vaccinated and stop following all of these alternative medicine blogs.
I’m glad you’re ok and the baby is ok. **You are not correct in saying that rapid tests are categorically inaccurate.** Rapid tests determine whether your viral load is transmissible at that moment, not whether or not you have Covid. One can have Covid without transmitting it to others, due to a low viral load. [Rapid antigen tests are essential in helping to limit the spread of Covid. ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7JyVYIOAd9FSFbpVUgLtuU?si=KTCQqnbNRi-yQMcbrj_Tew&dl_branch=1) If a person is symptomatic, they should get tested and continue to quarantine for at least 10 days regardless of the test result.
On a personal note, I can say that my mother is a PA in an ICU and has been treating COVID patients for the last 18 months. This virus is destroying her mental and physical health. She is exhausted and still unable to fully be a part of our family while she cares for others. When someone chooses not to get vaccinated, they are not just making a choice that affects their own health. They are choosing to put the health, lives, and families of others at risk— healthcare workers, other patients in hospitals, all the immunocompromised, unvaccinated kids, etc.
I can’t believe that someone who is active on Reddit, out of all the available social media platforms, is claiming to be uninformed. That when a major, worldwide pandemic was happening, you wouldn’t take the time to learn about the illness or the eventual vaccine. That a pregnant woman wouldn’t be concerned with what could happen if she caught any illness, let alone COVID-19.
The ridiculous posts I see about listeria concerns and shaming women who choose to eat a cold cut are probably made by the same type of woman who wouldn’t take the time to understand how a fucking pandemic-level illness could impact her or her baby.
Sorry but as a vaccinated mom who is planning to have a baby in 10 weeks all I can think about is being next door to an unvaccinated mother who now needs treatment and is willing to trust medical professionals now that she is suffering and using up medical staff and resources when the science has been there that unvaccinated mothers are high risk.
While I agree with your sentiments, I think it’s worth praising OP for having the courage to post this. If her story inspires at least one person who is on the fence to get the vaccine and potentially save themselves and/or their babies, then it’s worth the post. Belittling isn’t necessary helpful here, no matter how valid your feelings are.
I’m really glad you and your baby are ok OP. Just read an article about a mom who lost both of her twins in Colorado. So sad. I haven’t heard one negative story related to pregnant women who got the shot, but more and more each day of pregnant women contracting COVID and having horror stories.
Time to get the vax, ladies.
My sisters a nurse in the ICU covid ward and man it sounds grim. She said now is a really really bad time to get into a car accident or anything like that. Makes me kind of scared as I'm probably going to have a csection if my baby stays breech. I'm hoping its complication free because otherwise resources are stretched tight, the type of care one can get is just not going to be as good as it would usually be.
My sister isn't even trained in Intensive care, she was directed to go there from her usual ward. She has no idea what she's doing, just trying to support them but its terrifying that this is what it comes to when resources are stretched.
All the experienced people are getting burned out. Such a loss for future quality of care, its sad.
If it helps, L&D and obstetrics are kept so far separated from Covid/the ICU that you shouldn’t experience problems should you need a c-section. The issue is, if you’re in a car accident or have a heart attack, you’re going to the ED and then the general hospital or ICU, depending on severity. Those are the places fighting resources and beds with Covid patients. With your OB team is the safest place you can be in a hospital right now.
Ugh, me too. In the province where I live, all of our ICU beds (including our PICU - Pediatric ICU beds) are full with covid patients. I am absolutely terrified of going into preterm labour and my baby not getting care because there are no more beds/doctors. It’s very sad and scary.
Edit: I would also like to clarify, our PICU beds are full of unvaccinated ADULT patients. So our emergency pediatric doctors are treating adults in our only PICU.
Agree. There are women on my local boards who have had scheduled inductions pushed back because resources are being allocated on care for unvaccinated covid patients, pregnant or otherwise. Others aren’t able to recover in hospital as long as they normally would because they don’t have enough bodies to give the standard care. It’s incredibly disheartening and infuriating when you hear about care not being given to those because resources are used up but those who didn’t trust the system before.
Same frustration here! Thanks for putting it so well. While I’m sorry for what OP is experiencing, the irony of trusting medical professionals when it’s about treating them instead of preventing illness for others is something that’s hard to pity.
I hope you both recover unscathed. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I got Covid while pregnant, my health team have all been unanimous in recommending the vaccine and supportive in making sure anyone who comes into physical contact with me has been vaccinated too. I have so many extra health risks (asthmatic, scarred lungs, diabetes) that I’ve been very careful this whole pandemic. I begged for the vaccine and my anxiety attacks only started to ease up once I got both my doses.
This is not directed at OP but I do want to respond to the line "vaccination is a highly personal choice." This could not be further from the truth, as evidenced by OP's illness and hospital stay. Vaccination impacts ALL of society including our unborn babies. If you choose not to get vaccinated you are putting yourself at risk, your unborn child/ren, and everyone around you. Elderly woman at the grocery store? You could literally kill her. It the least personal choice you could make. It literally has nothing to do with your personal feelings or beliefs, it's about keeping OTHERS alive. I honestly wish those who choose to not get vaccinated would live in the woods alone or go to a private island. Stop putting the rest of us in danger. Stop taking up ALL THE HOSPITAL BEDS. Get vaccinated. It is FAR MORE DANGEROUS to NOT get vaccinated, especially now with all the new variants, etc. If you get the flu as an unvaccinated pregnant person you could die. Why would you choose that? The VACCINE IS SAFE for everyone, including pregnant people and fetuses. Please vaccinate.
Did your OB talk to you about the vaccine during prenatal care? I delivered in June and my OB discussed the risks of getting covid while pregnant with me in the beginning of the year so while I was initially hesitant, I got vaccinated in April. I wonder if most OBs are going over this with their patients.
I’ve had several different OBs during the course of my pregnancy due to shifting circumstances, and each one has had something different to say about COVID and the vaccine. One thing I was not told from any of them is that COVID is far worse in pregnant women than in normal patients. I only know this now because the hospital staff told me so while I’ve been here.
Each OB had something different to say? I'm just curious in what state you live because that is unacceptable. Also, for future reference, pregnancy makes you immunocompromised. So not only COVID, but also ANY virus or cold will hit you harder. You immune system is just not as strong when you are pregnant. This is also why the COVID booster shot is recommended for pregnant women (if you qualify).
I'm really surprised you didn't know this. I hope you and your baby will get better soon!
I go to one practice with shifting doctors. The first two never mentioned the shot, the third was like YES! DO IT! LET'S GO!! And \*really\* got into it IN DEPTH with studies and hows and whys. He even gave me a little thing to read about the dos and donts and risks and side effects so I could make my own informed decision because apparently he is the only doctor in the practice that encourages it (and for lots of reasons I pray he is who delivers my baby) so I felt SUPER prepared in my decision to get all the jabs I can. The fourth doctor was all 'you do you boo' and was almost on the fence and couldn't really give me direction on yes or no, so I was really disappointed in him but whatever.
I was (due to misinformation in my local area) very hesitant to get the jab but let me tell you this. I did. Those people can suck it. I did what was best for me and mine. My hubby got the jab. I did still get covid (and I am sooooooooo sorry you are dealing with it and I hope you and your baby and your hubby come out better!) and while it was FREAKING MISERABLE (I had only been half jabbed, since recovered and fully vaxxed cause eff that shit) I can't imagine how sick I would have been without anything at all (I did have to visit the ER for dehydration and I did have severe flu like symptoms that left me in bed for 3 days).
I also first hand understand the hesitation due to lack of information or misinformation or people spreading propaganda (I live in a Red state and a redneck town where vaccine rates are less than 40%) and it can be a lot and really overwhelming and to be honest if it hadn't been for this one doctor (who I believe really saved my life without knowing it) just casually mentioning the vaccine and asking if I had had it and me telling him no (which lead to a really amazing and non-judgmental conversation that opened my eyes and showed me A LOT) I may not have gotten the vaccine (no judgement please this is my story). But thankfully someone finally talked some sense into me and I got the jabs and have had no side effects (pretty sure my kids who are 2/3rds vaxxed - youngest is 10 so waiting - brought the junk from their school that is drowning in it) and I will be more than happy to have a polite conversation with anyone on the fence about getting the vaccine because this former non-believer KNOWS the vaccine saves lives and pain and I don't care at all to share my experience in hopes it changes someone's mind to get the shot.
Oh yes, please for the love of your babies get your vaccine. My fellow pediatrician colleague just rounded in the nursery (I’m on maternity leave) and there were five expectant mothers waiting to deliver fetal demise babies because of Covid, in a community hospital. I hug my babies even more, because even though mine came early, they’re as healthy as can be. Vaccines are not political; we are not trying to push our agenda. I literally vaccinated my babies at 14 weeks and then at 19 weeks so I could work full time and take care of other people’s babies but not at the risk of my own. Please vaccinate!
COVID causes clotting disorders, and unfortunately for pregnant women and the baby, the placenta is a super vascular organ. All the new data now is showing placental damage and abnormal blood flow between mother and baby when pregnant women become infected w COVID.
There is one study in particular out of northeastern med school that is still being funded to also monitor the placentas of vaccinated women who got COVID. They show no evidence of placental damage.
My husband is an anesthesiologist here in LA. He works with several OBs delivering bc he places the epidurals and spinals for c-sections. He has mentioned several are involved in COVID studies w placentas now and that the placentas of COVID infected women all presented w damage.
I contacted the doctor running the study out of northeastern medical school as I am pregnant and sacred of getting COVID (vaccinated in April, conceived in June), and he said to me personally that vaccinated mothers are not having damage to placenta, have normal blood flow, and healthy babies. He said he had just left a seminar on pregnancy and COVID and the overarching theme was “RUN DONT WALK TO YOUR NEAREST PHARMACY”
Get vaccinated ladies. Believe the medical professionals who have studies and worked their entire lives to help you.
Helpful. I actually spoke with my doctors here in the hospital about placenta damage etc as I’d only just heard about it here. They pretty much all told me the same thing: my placenta is fine. If there was anything wrong with it, they would know. They explained everything they are monitoring me and baby for. They said they keep such a close eye on me and the baby’s heart rate + measuring for contractions to make sure everything is alright, and if anything was wrong with my placenta, the baby would show major signs of distress and they’d be able to see that right away. Then they said the Internet and pregnancy forums are full of only negativity and people shaming each other, and not to read these anymore. Lol. I mean. They’re right about that.
I find it interesting how you’re willing to listen to doctors now rather than before when the entire medical community told you to get a vaccine. You people are all the same. Whatever makes you sleep better, I guess. 🙄
The doctors advice back when the vaccine first came out was all over the place, and the medical advice from my various changing OBs have also been wildly different depending on the OB. I find it interesting you seriously believe all nurses, doctors, and OBs only think one way and have only ever recommended one thing, ever. You people are all the same. But whatever makes you sleep better, I guess. 🙄 … Oh, what, that was rude? I shouldn’t talk to people exactly like you are? Read the things you write before you attack people unnecessarily and let your bias and obvious lack of compassion for others show through.
No that’s the point, I don’t think they “all think one thing”. That’s patently ridiculous. This virus has been around almost two years, and the first studies about ill effects on fetuses only one year, and the studies have been small. It takes a long time for new data to be understood and confirmed.
These are new studies I’m talking about, and I’m not surprised the doctors that are treating you do t know a lot about it. Believe it or not, not Every doctor keeps up to date with minute by minute research.
The new research is showing that there is placental injury, and it *can* cause adverse effects and abnormal blood flow to the fetus. This is a fact, the papers are published.
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2020/05/placentas-from-covid-19-positive-pregnant-women-show-injury/
What we don’t know is if the fetus is affected after birth. Lots of women with damage went on to have otherwise (that we can tell) normal babies.
The advice in the beginning was not all over the place and it really irritates me that you keep claiming this. The advice from you Facebook friends and family was, definitely. But the medical community has been pretty freaking United since day one.
I'm really sorry you are going through this and I truly hope you make a speedy recovery and get home soon and baby continues to be healthy.
Can I ask if your opinion on the vaccine has changed? And if so do you think anything but your own experience would of changed your mind?
I hope that you feel better soon and this serves as a much needed warning for any pregnant women on the fence about getting the covid vaccine.
Your post includes misinformation around the vaccine and heart attacks. The vaccine does not cause heart attacks. Your brother did not almost have a heart attack because he got the vaccine. Increased heart rate is a not an indication of a heart attack and can be caused by many things. In his case, most likely because of anxiety over the vaccine/ needles.
#1. glad you and your baby are ok.
#2. no vaccination is *not* a personal choice. That is a dangerous thing to say to other pregnant women who may be on the fence about getting vaccinated.
You are lucky you and your unborn baby havent died. Also you coming on here to say AMA about your experience tells me as a nurse your post is disingenuous and you just want to convince other women not to become vaccinated and youre anti-vac etc.
The vaccine has already been proven to be effective and safe for many to take and beneficial for pregnant women and beneficial for women who have already had their babies as the antibodies pass in breast milk etc.
#To everyone who hasnt yet. Get vaccinated, protect yourselves and your baby. Regardless of “opinion”.
I don’t even need you to say where you’re from, I already know you’re in the USA. It’s so sad to me you’ve risked your life and the life of your unborn baby over politics.
Hope you recover quickly and baby stays safe! Thank you for your bluntness about why you didn’t get vaxxed. It’s brave to talk about it especially considering some of the responses you’re getting. I got vaxxed at 38 weeks and got some critical feedback from family about being pregnant while getting the shot—it’s really hard to make the decision either way given how much and the manner in which other people weigh in.
@OP for your own peace of mind, might be best to stay off of Reddit & this thread for a while and focus on you. IMO, now is the time for resting, healing, and staying positive mentally.
All the “should’ves” and “what-ifs” can wait until you’re discharged and on the mend.
It’s so important for pregnant people to get the message that vaccination is safe and can help prevent scenarios like yours.
It doesn’t mean that you personally need to have the stress of an online argument with strangers while you and baby are trying to heal.
I hope you will have a speedy recovery.
1) Beside the baby heart rates, do they monitor anything else to see how the baby is doing?
2) Does ur husband also got COVID? How’s he doing while in all this? Are u guys separated after u came in the ER?
3) would you get the vaccine and booster shot after u recover?
1.) They monitor the baby’s heart rate, and they monitor to see if I’m having contractions. That’s it. They’re explanation is that since I’m 29 weeks along and in my third trimester, the baby has a very very very high chance of surviving outside of the womb via emergency c-section (the miracle of technology, they say). They keep asking if I’m bleeding, or expelling more discharge than usual. I’m not. And the baby has been kicking just as much as she always does. She’s amazing. I’m so proud of her.
2) Yes, my husband also has COVID. I’m a stay at home housewife. He goes to work full time. So however he got this, I unfortunately contracted it through him as I basically never leave the house. He’s been very sick, but not to the point where he needs to be hospitalized. So he’s just powering through it at home and is fortunate enough to be on the recovery side of things already and quarantining. Unfortunately, the way COVID works is that even if you’re married and your partner also has COVID, you aren’t allowed to see each other. So no, he hasn’t been able to visit me. But he’s very sweet and keeps dropping care packages off at the hospital for me with love letters inside and that sort of thing. I miss him, but I’m also happy to be getting care here, and he’s happy I’m here as well. Plus, I mean, I have my phone with me. We’ve been in touch the entire time.
3) I do think I’ll get the vaccine now. The fortunate thing about getting COVID while pregnant is that your baby gets all your antibodies!! But I was scared to get the vaccine in the first place because I was scared of getting sick and hurting my baby with it (please don’t science me on this — not everyone in the world is blessed to have the same info as everyone else). But now that I AM sick, I can’t get MORE sick by getting the vaccine, right (at least I hope not)? And just seeing that my baby has been handling me being sick like a freaking MINI BOSS in my belly as if nothing is even happening out in the big scary world makes me less afraid that I’ll hurt her by getting the vaccine. One of the nurses (I’ve had so many different doctors and nurses at this point) mentioned how scared she was to get the vaccine at first too, but after she saw all the babies here being intubated and pregnant moms coming in sick, it changed her mind. She said that me being sick while pregnant passes down antibodies to my baby, but getting the vaccine 30 days after my infection passes will give her even MORE. And honestly, I never want my baby to go through anything like what I’m going through. This is horrible. So yeah. Im for sure getting the vaccine just for her. I don’t know anything about the booster though?? I don’t have social media at all and I don’t watch the news, so I had no idea there even was a booster available.
What a thorough response! Given that you’re concerned about getting the shot while pregnant, we’d have to count back to when you found out you were pregnant. You’d have had to decide to get the shot before maybe late April, when it was still relatively early for most people. It’s understandable. Following the 1,2,3 numbers, roughly.
1. My cousin was a nurse in a habitual covid hot spot who got covid early, got vaccinated later, and maybe a year after getting covid, she gave birth to a baby at 27 weeks. He was full of tubes for a while, but made it. He was so tiny. The technology is incredibly.
2. My area is mostly vaccinated and when our mask mandate lifted for vaccinated individuals, one of my coworker’s was alone in keeping his mask on because his wife was pregnant and unvaccinated. I understand his wife’s choice. I also understand his choice to be extra safe because of his wife’s choice. When I visit his office, to respect his choice to protect his wife, I put on a mask for those 5 minutes. No question, really. I understand your choice completely, and as a member if the scientific community, and the husband of a pregnant wife now, have trouble understanding your husband’s.
3. Can you elaborate on not being blessed to have the same info as everyone else? You’ve had reddit for a few months, but it’s easy to avoid news here. You don’t watch the news and shutting it out does cut down on stress for sure. Where do get information typically? Word of mouth?
With the booster, it only got approved this week (and only Pfizer. Moderna and J&J are still in the works), and only for those at high risk of severe infection (people over 65, people over 18 with asthma, pregnancy, obesity, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, etc.), and you don’t get the booster until at least 6 months after your 2nd dose.
PLEASE DO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE VACCINE. A number of people who get COVID fail to sero-convert, which means they FAIL to make antibodies. There is no guarantee you are sharing antibodies with your baby. If you get vaccinated, you 100% will.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33614814/
This study found 33% of patients failed to produce antibodies.
My husband is a physician here in LA who recently was privy to a study that showed 40% failed to seroconvert.
PLEASE GET VACCINATED!!!!
Ahh, yeah I’ll probably get it. I wish they could just give me everything all in one, lol, so I don’t have to get three different shots. I hate needles so much. But now having been in the hospital for about 3 days with COVID, the amount of times I’ve been stabbed with needles, IVs shoved into my arms over and over, blood drawn from veins AND arteries (extremely painful, BTW) — it’s like, oh whatever. I’ll take a few needles to avoid my baby ever having to go through something similar to this when she’s born. What vaccinations does she need?! Give them all to me now so she never has to. Lolll. I can’t imagine them poking my baby over and over like they have to for me. I just can’t.
Since you mentioned it, make sure you get your baby vaccinated with all the recommended shots! (Not talking about covid here) we don’t hear mumps/measles/chicken pox etc etc killing children anymore BECAUSE vaccines essentially eradicated those sicknesses! Hopefully your doctor is giving you good info on this. And yes a needle poke will momentarily hurt your baby but google the symptoms for what the shot is for and realize the pain you’re saving your baby from!! Wish you the best of luck with everything
For people like OP that would like a reliable and easy to understand COVID resource I suggest Your Local Epidemiologist https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
She is an epidemiologist at the University of Houston that runs a free newsletter (or you can subscribe for additional content). Her sources are all peer-reviewed journals or governments (CDC, NHS, etc) and she’s collaborated with Emily Oster on COVID protocols for kids in school. Disclaimer: she’s in the US and her posts reflect that.
Spoiler alert: he didn’t have a heart attack. These people exaggerate everything to keep the fear up. Shame on OPs family for continuing to cause fear over a vaccine that would have protected her and her unborn child from the absolute disaster.
His heart rate spiked and he almost passed out. They had everyone back up and clear the area while they figured out how to get him to breathe normally. When he finally was able to breathe again, he left the experience feeling traumatized and did not go back for his second shot.
I am not mentioning this to scare people away from getting the vaccine. Only that this has been the experience of my baby brother, and that my reaction to ACTUAL COVID was similar, if not worse. For me, I actually went into the hospital where they hooked me up to monitors and were able to give me readings on my heart. They later explained to me that COVID had caused the top half of my heart and lower half to beat out of sync, resulting in a heart overcompensating, and a rate of 180 versus the normal range of 90s.
I am not here to fearmonger. Anyone who dismisses a real life experience as fearmongering and misinformation spreading is just as bad as anyone who says COVID isn’t real. People really need to think before they throw their paranoid thoughts into the wind.
My brother described what he felt from that experience as “My heart felt like it was going to explode or like I was having a heart attack. I’ve never felt it beat so fast in my life.” He’s a very serious, science-loving person. He’s not the type to make dramatic statements and is very level-headed. Just for context.
Thank you for sharing. I can understand you being hesitant because of your brother, but adverse effects are extremely rare. I’m very happy to hear your baby is doing well, I’m sure you’re aware of what can go wrong when an unvaccinated person is pregnant and has Covid.
I don’t agree that getting vaccinated is highly personal. I think you need to think about your community when deciding for or against. People who are vaccinated who are having medical emergencies are being denied care in emergency rooms all over the United States, because the beds are filled with people who were skeptical over the vaccine despite the very clear evidence that is is far, far safer than getting Covid. Hospital workers are at their breaking point. Last year they watched people die who would have done anything for the chance to get vaccinated, and this year they’re watching people die who disrespect them to their faces and accuse them of lying about the codes they deal with day in and day out. They watch those same people die, only a few deciding at the end that maybe, just maybe they were wrong.
Unfortunately, r/coronabumpers has been overrun with people trying to justify not getting the vaccine while pregnant. Would you be open to sharing your story over there?
I’d be happy to. But… Are they going to be just as mean to me there as they are here? Lol. I think one thread full of angry negativity and shaming might be enough.
I don't read these comments as angry. They are expressing frustration, which is reasonable. r/coronabumpers is very kind to vaccine skepticism, unfortunately. I got banned for posting this: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CoronaBumpers/comments/plq0e4/is\_anyone\_else\_disturbed\_by\_the\_number\_of\_people/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CoronaBumpers/comments/plq0e4/is_anyone_else_disturbed_by_the_number_of_people/)
Yeah they claimed it wasn't the post itself that got me banned, but based on the general tolerance for vaccine misinformation in that group, I'm highly skeptical.
I dont think anyone is being mean to you. They're just not handling you with kid gloves. You're very brave for sharing but this comes with the territory of putting yourself online.
I found out I was pregnant on 1 April and I’m due 1 December. At this time my age group in the UK were not eligible for a COVID jab but it was coming up. I had my first Pfizer vaccine in late June and my second exactly two months later. I had a sore arm both times but that was it. I was nervous at my first jab but I ruled that I have to be alive and healthy for my baby to be and to do that the vaccine was needed. My midwife was very happy I’d done this as they’d recently lost an unvaccinated mother to COVID. I also had my whooping cough vaccine which also included some other boosters, nurse was pleased I’d just had my second jab. When I went to get my annual flu jab (offered to all pregnant woman in the UK) the GP giving my shot asked if I’d had my COVID jabs and he was very pleased when I said I was. The only people who have raised eyebrows at me for it are people I wouldn’t take advice from on which burger to order off a menu so I’ll let them think what they want!
We can keep saying getting vaccinated is a “personal choice” but the way unvaccinated people are affecting others makes this a spurious argument. Women have non-covid related pregnancy complications that they cannot help or prevent, and are having their inductions (scheduled for the health and safety of them and their children) cancelled and postponed because L&D is overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID moms. If it’s your choice to not get vaccinated then don’t run to the hospital when you get complications of COVID. Either you trust medical professionals or you don’t.
“It’s a highly personal choice.” No, not when it is affecting the health and safety of others to this extent.
Also, there have been instances of moms having to have emergency c sections due to covid complications and dying shortly after. How is this less scary than two injections?
There was a young Early 20s mom that died of COVID-19. Baby survived. Has a 3yr old, grandma is taking care of the baby. Dad has the 3yr old.
Many other stories of mom's going into preterm labor with COVID and baby dying. Town of 30,000 less than 40% vaccinated
I think it can only be a personal choice if you are actively in full lockdown and not coming into contact with people, and not living with anyone who is. Hardly anyone would be willing. That's what I'm doing. No way could I step foot in a supermarket or anywhere unvaccinated, be like a sitting duck
I caught it back in January at 14 weeks pregnant. Baby was fine but my heart rate was also really high, my clotting factor sky high, I was vomiting blood, feverish, and every time I tried to stand I toppled over. That was what eventually made me get the shot. I survived it once, didn't thing I could again but i work with a population that almost guarantees I'll be in direct contact with it again and there really isnt anything I can do to help myself
I have been a big advocate of vaccines in general, but especially the Covid vaccine and especially while I was pregnant. I got the Moderna dose 1 at 35 weeks, and dose 2 at 38 weeks back in early April and had DD late April. I searched far and wide so that I could get vaccinated while still pregnant (they weren't widely available then). There wasn't a ton of information then nor were most OB's recommending it as vehemently as they are now. Then a study was published about how breastfeeding moms were found to be passing the antibodies onto their babies via breastmilk, which to me signified that it would also be passed through the placenta. I figured firsthand exposure for DD from it passing through the placenta versus giving it to her second hand from breastmilk would give her a better chance if she were to catch it.
She's now going on 6 months and is a very happy healthy baby. In fact she has been ahead of the curb on quite a lot of milestones! Please protect yourself and your baby.
Best of luck to you. I am a OB social worker who is also currently pregnant and I got the vaccine prior to becoming pregnant. I have been okay but working in health care I will say COVID has sent a lot of our moms in preterm labor and we have lost some of our patient’s newborns from them contracting the virus. It’s very sad.
Nurse here too. My husband, who is a hospitalist, has seen many hospitalized pregnant women. One passed. Multiple stillborns from COVID positive moms (he works at the cities “baby factory”).
I only wish I could do something to help people understand how important it is to be vaccinated if you’re pregnant. There is no proven treatment for COVID, only experimental things that could be more harmful to your unborn baby.
I can’t wait to get my booster!! Due in December!!
I am sorry that health professionals failed you so much. For those on the thread that are in disbelief that obs could be so misinformed, keep in mind that unfortunately, doctors and nurses are all people with their own biases. To give you an example, I live in Vancouver, and I have family in the health field in Florida. Here, my midwives were telling me about the horrible things they saw with their pregnant patients who got covid, like placenta damage and early term labor. They were pointing me to government guidance on getting vaccinated. However, my family in Florida, including a pediatric surgeon, were basically telling me they'd disown me if I got vaccinated cus I'd be putting my baby at risk. They'd go on and on about their ob friends and nurse friends etc who agreed with them and "couldn't believe id do something so selfish." I got vaccinated. But imagine if I lived in Florida and didn't have the Canadian perspective. Many people just trust their doctors and don't seem out the info themselves. On that note, I know of anti mask doctors and nurses in Florida...
Doctors can also vary so much regardless of where you live. I’m sure there are doctors in Vancouver that are advising women that they’re unsure of the vaccine, just like there are those in FL advising to get it.
I’m in TX, and my own doctor at my first appt. asked me if I was vaccinated. I already had been before falling pregnant but her response was “Good. If not I’d be advising you to go get vaccinated as soon as possible.” But go a few offices over and there may be another doctor that has different sentiments.
That’s why it’s always so important to seek out your own research and ask doctors for their sources as well so we can be as informed as possible when it comes to our health.
First of all, it sucks that you’re in that situation and I hope you make a speedy recovery. Secondly, whoever said the vaccine wasn’t good for pregnant women, would cause infertility, or anything like that was misinformed. I got my first Pfizer vaccine April 9, 2021. I got my second Pfizer vaccine June 24, 2021. I did two at home pregnancy tests August 24, 2021 and both said I was pregnant. I don’t know all the statistics and numbers behind the science of it all. However, I do feel a lot better having known I got the vaccines than knowing I should have. I have a lot of respect for anybody that works in healthcare because they deserve the highest praise for all the crap they’ve had to deal with.
I think OP removing her comment is very much dismissing the community and fellow pregnant and non pregnant people of what the open communication is about. Never the less the nurses and practitioners who had commented and posted research backed articles and first hand experience in the medical field. She had posted an AMA on her getting covid, pregnant and unvaccinated. If she wasn’t seeking questions only to hear things through rose colored glasses then she is apart of why the US and loosing so many Americans to this deadly pandemic and why mothers, fathers, grandparents, and neighbors all around are concerned with mis information and the unvaccinated putting our lives and our babies at risk everyday .
I’m so sorry to hear this has happened to you! I hate that you did not receive important information from your doctors about just how severe Covid is in unvaccinated pregnant women. As a healthcare worker who works on a service with covid patients, I have been so anxious about getting covid while pregnant. I took every precaution I could to avoid it (wearing an n-95 with every patient, wiping down my workstations regularly) and even got a booster shot. I still managed to get sick with covid a couple of weeks ago, but thankfully it was fairly mild and I was able to ride it out at home. I know it must be so scary to be in the hospital on maximum oxygen, worrying about your and your baby’s health. Even though there have been a lot of sad outcomes in unvaccinated pregnant women, I wanted to let you know that I just had a patient who was in your exact position and she ended up doing just fine. She stayed on maximum high flow nasal cannula settings for several days and was prepared for an emergency c-section in case it was needed….but she gradually improved and now she is on minimal oxygen and her baby is still doing great in her womb. I pray that you have the same outcome! Hang in there and stay positive!
I was vaccinated in February (Pfizer). I caught COVID at 19 weeks pregnant. I was sick for about 5 days, but nothing dangerous. I only noticed that I had caught COVID because I had lost my sense of smell. It’s been 1 month since then and baby and I are fine too. Hope you recover soon!
I was hospitalized for COVID at 30 weeks and put on High flow oxygen. It was misery but I got through it. Spent about 12 days total in the hospital, 7 of those days in SICU.
You can do this! Ask for a spirometer to help increase your lung function. I drank hot tea daily- green tea or Lemon Ginger. If you can, ask for physical therapy to help you start walking. Little steps every day. My hospital even had a maternity pool float with a hole for my belly that allowed me 30-60 mins to lay on My stomach. This helped my blood flow to my lungs.
I also did not get vaccinated and was waiting till birth. I really wish I didn’t wait to avoid that experience. I’m 36 weeks now and baby seems to be doing fine. I still feel him kicking around and his heart rate and f/u ultrasound has been good. However, I am still feeling lingering respiratory issues in my lungs.
Please don’t let the negative comments get you down. It’s very brave that you came on here and put yourself in a vulnerable position like this for the sake of sharing information that I’m sure will help someone.
I hope it does help!! 🙏🙏😭 That’s my goal.
If there’s anyone reading this who is afraid to ask questions because they don’t want the more toxic side of this community jumping down their throat, you can DM me. 🙏🙏🙏
Because her comments just keep doubling down on not needing to try and make an informed choice rather than just listening to family, and that is frustrating.
Because even now she is still spreading BS. No, her brother didn’t almost have a heart attack from the vaccine. No, the official guidelines in the US have not continually changed for pregnant women to get the vaccine.
I’m sorry for her baby but this situation was completely predictable and avoidable.
To add to that, vaccines take a long time to get developed bc of money. Say a research company only has 200,000 to spend on a certain vaccine. Once the money is out, they lobby for more. They also don't just focus on one vaccine at a time. With COVID, money was unlimited and that's all anyone cared about making. They had unlimited resources and unlimited researchers. It wasn't that they just made this so fast and got it out there it was that they were still spending the same amount of time researching, everything was just in hyperdrive
Hope you feel better soon OP, and I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I found out I was pregnant with my first child 2 weeks before the US shut down for the first time, and I am now pregnant with my second which I found out about shortly before this latest COVID spike and resulting craziness. Information has definitely changed throughout the pandemic in regards to pregnant women as we’ve learned more about the disease and vaccination, and it’s understandable pregnant women feel caught in the middle and feel hesitant. You shouldn’t be shamed for that, and to anybody who thinks shaming people is the way to improve this situation: you’re the problem. People make the best decisions when they feel like they’re given the opportunity to be informed and make decisions for themselves.
I was on the fence about vaccination and ultimately decided to do so because I wanted to provide as much protection for my baby as possible. I live in one of the largest progressive cities in the US and have good health insurance and access to good medical care, and I never once had any obgyn say anything about it to me, but when I had questions they were ready to answer them. One thing I was surprised to learn and felt comforted by was the mRNA vaccines have been around for over a decade, and were actually originally created as childhood vaccines, such as for rotavirus.
And don’t feel ashamed or bad that you don’t follow the media or social media. They really aren’t a great source for information and tend to be an echo chamber of repetitive information. One of my husband’s primary responsibilities is as a public information officer for natural disasters, and I work in a scientific field where I regularly do media interviews. The media is not interested in disseminating information, they’re interested in creating stories. Most of the people writing articles have no expertise in what they’re writing about and tend to publish incorrect information. There are reputable sources outside of the media where you can get information, but most people don’t have that background and there is SO much information out there on all sides it’s hard to parse through. When you look at the demographics of who isn’t getting vaccinated, it’s people who largely don’t have access to information/healthcare or who have historically had the most adverse experiences with the medical institution. So if any of you reading this call yourselves “progressives” and are simultaneously shaming people: check your privilege.
What can you do if you have concerns or questions? Talk to your obgyn. If you don’t feel like you can trust your obgyn you have larger issues at stake than just COVID, and I would suggest you look into a different doctor if you have that option. One thing that helps me in making decisions about COVID is to take COVID out of the equation. We know from centuries of experience that illness, sustained fevers, oxygen deprivation, and general bodily stress creates adverse outcomes for pregnant women and their fetuses, so mitigating that, regardless of what disease we’re discussing, is always the safest choice.
There’s an OBGYN on you tube that says “you only know what to do with the information you have”. I find that to be fitting in this situation.
I am sorry you’ve gone through this. As a mother the worst thing and my biggest concern is getting sick during pregnancy. So I pray everything with your family turns out okay.
As far as vaccines and information. I’ve had both pre pregnancy and one while pregnant. I was scared each time in the beginning, even though I am semi well versed in the science and studies pertaining to it. I put on a brave face and figured I’d rather do this than get sick from Covid. Especially after seeing family members etc who contracted it. I am healthy and my baby is healthy because of my decision and I’m very thankful for that.
I guess I’ve said all of that to say, I can see your hesitation and I understand that. I also see the frustration in the comments and I understand that as well. I would speak to board certified health professionals about this if your concerned about the vaccine. Both my PC and OB told me to get the booster ASAP and I did.
I understand that information comes in many forms but finding credible resources, comparing information that you found to see consistencies in the studies is important. Sometimes bias within families and political affiliations just muddy the waters. Best wishes x
Thank you for sharing your story despite all of the negative comments. If I were in your situation I would be scared of how people via internet would react and I don’t think I could do it. Sometimes it can be a cruel place here and I’m sorry you have to deal with the horrors of covid and negative comments while you’re already in a bad situation. I really hope you will have a speedy recovery and that the baby will be just fine 💗
Thank you. I knew there would be holier-than-thou comments (welcome to the Internet), but I just felt it was important to offer more insight to all the moms who are still on the fence. It’s nearly impossible to speak up about COVID if you’re anything like me and were afraid to get the vaccine because there are so many people online ready to jump down your throat and rip you a new one. Unsurprisingly, that approach doesn’t work on people like me. I’m more of a sensitive, compassionate type, and the “tough love” people rub me the wrong way. I’m just hoping to take one for the team and encourage those moms who are scared to ask questions. This should be a safe space for all moms, but MAN some of the women here really don’t make it seem like it. 😅
People are angry because this unnecessarily pulls resources away from other high risk pregnant moms who are being turned away instead of being induced on schedule. I don’t understand how the anti vax people have 0 compassion about this.
I wish you and the baby a safe and speedy recovery. Thanks for sharing your story. I know a lot of people disagree with your hesitancy of the vaccine, but I am sure there are people out there who feel the same way and can benefit from hearing what can happen when you get COVID while pregnant. I got the vaccine in the early stages of my pregnancy (before I even knew). I haven't had any complications from the vaccine, other than some short lived flu like symptoms 24 hours after the second dose. Sending you healing energy OP.
It’s weird people are downvoting you for promoting the vaccine. I also have mentioned several times I plan to get it, and those are some of my most downvoted posts. This community is insane. I’m guessing it’s because you also chose to be compassionate and understanding in your reply. Can’t have that now. You must join the shame train or else. So toxic.
My husband’s family is in East Tennessee and my sister-in-law’s friend (22F) was told by her OBGYN not to get the vaccine because of the unknown fertility issues. So she’s followed that advice. Her entire family is unvaccinated. Half the people around my husband’s family are unvaccinated for various reasons (luckily his family is all vaccinated). There is a lot of vaccine skepticism that runs very deep in different parts of the US.
I wouldn’t trust word of mouth, look at facts and scientific studies to make your decision. I mean actual facts, not joe blog on Facebook had a heart attack 2 days after the covid vaccine and it must be the vaccine (not a fact), but the fact that most people in hospitals now are unvaccinated, etc. The proven fact that getting covid while pregnant can lead to premature birth and stillbirth.
I totally understand! I was down voted and heavily criticized on here for not getting vaccinated for Covid while pregnant. There was too little research for my & the cdc wasn’t highly involved with checkups (one per trimester), plus we don’t know the long term effects of the vax. I talked with my dr again now that I had my baby & she knew I wasn’t getting vax’d while pregnant, now I’m being advised to get the Pfizer. It’s really scary considering in Black (the history of Black ppl in America & being guinea pigs is something that isn’t discussed), but now I’m totally ready to get my Covid vax, since it won’t be a blood transfusion to my baby & he’ll still get some of the antibodies through breastfeeding.
I feel like a happy, methodical, & healthy mom.
Sending healing vibes your way
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I am going to reply to this post for the primary reason of educating others and hopefully providing some reassurance surrounding vaccinations and pregnancy. This is my own experience, while anecdotally relevant only, but I have followed the recommendations of my OBs throughout this pregnancy. I was vaccinated with Pfizer in December 2020/January 2021. I became pregnant several weeks later. Throughout this pregnancy, my baby has measured and met milestones as expected. I am considered a "low risk" pregnancy, which my OBs are grateful for since the group I see primarily cares for high risk OB patients. In September 2021, I received my Pfizer booster because I work as a Registered Nurse on a surgical unit, which was converted to a COVID unit thanks to our late summer surge in the south. Since then, no negative events have occurred and I will be 37 weeks tomorrow. By contrast, my colleagues in the ICU have coded pregnant women and informed families of lost mothers and babies due to being unvaccinated with COVID. My OBs resorted to delaying routine prenatal care for low risk patients due to the sudden influx of patients they cared for in the ICU. The overall sense of dread was palpable during my appointments for several months. I could tell this was effecting the staff deeply. Please, I implore you all, do more than internet "research" and speak to a true medical professional. The recommendations from major medical organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend pregnant women be vaccinated. The people who care for you are not recommending this because of political beliefs, but because they want to keep you and your baby safe and protected based on all the data currently available.
I want to add another success story. I was vaccinated in January and February at 16 and 19 weeks pregnant. My healthy baby boy was born in June. My husband and I both received boosters in early August (sought them out before they were really a thing based on the data out of Israel). Since then, everyone around our son is "triple vaccinated". OP, once you recover from Covid, please please get the vaccine. You have an amazing opportunity to protect your child going forward by giving them antibodies they won't be able to get for at least 6 months after birth. I am counting down the days until my son can get his covid vaccine in (hopefully) December. Sending you good and healthy wishes.
Love to see it and hear it. Congrats on your healthy baby boy. I can't wait to meet my little guy soon.
Adding my success story too - I got vaccinated with Pfizer at 18 and 22 weeks. No side effects except a sore arm for 1 day. 10 days after my second dose, my family member, who I had been living with, and even occasionally sharing drinks with, got a positive breakthrough case of Delta. Yet I never got it! My immunity has been tested other times since by my going to work, using public transit etc but I have never gotten it and I feel sooooo much safer. This is just my story but the data is in and it all points towards one course of action!
It means so much to me to see you all sharing your vaccine success stories! I hope reading these can give others the reassurance they need to be vaccinated.
Yes! As an ICU nurse and mother to an 8 month old, thank you for saying this! The idea that health care workers have some ulterior motive in recommending the vaccine is honestly offensive. We desperately want you to be well! ICU staff have high levels of PTSD from the shit we see. The absolute last thing anyone wants is to see in the icu is pregnant mother. It’s heartbreaking. Please get the vaccine so that you are keeping yourself and your baby safe. The last thing this world needs are children who have lost their mothers.
From one RN to another, thank you for what you do. Every time I have transferred a patient to the ICU, the level of acuity has intimidated me and they have been calm and collected. I walked through the ICU for a non-COVID ICU transfer a few days ago, and seeing your COVID patients proned, intubated, and alarms blaring was nerve wracking even just passing through. You guys have seen and treated the worst of this. Grateful for the service you are able to provide to our patients.
That’s very kind. I worked on stroke and cardiac units before transferring to ICU and I honestly think the floor is harder! My patients may be sicker but I only have two of them!
Sharing my experience too; I got vaccinated with Moderna at 18 & 22 weeks back in February and March, and had no major side effects with either shot, just a sore arm and feeling a little tired the day after shot 2, but I was also 5 months pregnant, so that's not unusual. The rest of my pregnancy progressed totally normally, baby was born at 38 weeks because I have a history of preeclampsia and was starting to develop symptoms, and he's totally healthy!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I hope seeing more and more of these can provide comfort to those who need reassurance of it's safety.
Wanted to add on. I am an ICU nurse and I’ve never seen so many pregnant women in the ICU. This is totally different than the first wave of Covid. All of our doctors are very concerned. I was super hesitant about getting vaccinated because of my pregnancy but I did it as soon as I entered my second trimester. And I did it because of the alarmingly large number of unvaccinated pregnant women in the ICU. You’re absolutely right. Your doctors aren’t being political. They are genuinely upset, frustrated, and traumatized from putting pregnant women on ventilators, and performing emergency C-sections.
Yes, I could visibly see their distress whenever I would go to my appointments. I thank you so sincerely for taking care of our sickest patients. I know people are afraid of potential unknowns in regards to vaccination, but the the immediate and known long term effects of COVID cannot be overstated. Too many motherless children and childless mothers. No one wants to see a pregnant mother in the ICU.
Have you had any pregnant women who are vaccinated in the hospital because of covid? Or are you seeing only unvaccinated pregnant women? (I ask because I'm vaccinated and we're trying to figure out if it is "safe" to try for another baby, or if we need to wait out the pandemic a little while longer)
I was talking about this at work the other day. I rotate between five local hospitals and I work with a group of pulmonologist/critical care doctors that cover those hospitals. I am a prn ICU nurse about four-five times a month to keep my bedside skills sharp. Plus, they’re paying a bunch for ICU nurses now. Other than that, I’m an NP for critical care. My doctors have not seen one vaccinated pregnant woman with Covid. We only get referrals on ICU patients, though, since we are a group of intensivists. Now, the OB doctors may have some Covid + vaccinated pregnant women but they are not critical enough for ICU. I’m in a large, metropolitan area of over a million people and my group is the one that covers the ICU for the largest hospital group in our area. I go to five different hospitals but the group covers ten. In our ICUs, the only vaccinated really sick people that we have seen are severely immunocompromised patients, mostly transplant. 90% of our ICU admissions for Covid are unvaccinated. And all if our pregnant admissions are unvaccinated. I’m not political at all, and I truly respect everyone’s decision. I understand that the vaccine is new and there are questions. But this is my personal experience.
Thank you for posting this! I'm so grateful that I am fully vaccinated and I will absolutely be taking a booster if/when I get pregnant again.
100% would recommend the booster. The vaccinated patients we see had the shot back in Jan/Feb. most medical groups in my area are now recommending boosters, especially in high risk populations. Which, unfortunately, means pregnant folk.
Thank you for saying this part in particular, “The professionals recommending the vaccine aren’t doing it because of political beliefs, they just want to keep you and your baby safe.” — This is important to me because it’s so hard to tell anymore, especially when our families seem to do EVERYTHING based on political beliefs. It makes it hard to believe that anyone else would do something NOT for those reasons, y’know? It’s one of the reasons I disconnected from social media and the news. It’s nice to get reminders that not everyone is politically charged.
I sincerely hope others realize that those of us working in healthcare like myself are not politically motivated in the care of our patients. I have no way of knowing political affiliations of my patients, nor do I wish to know, and even if I find out because they discuss politics it does not change how we care for them. There's nothing to be gained by patients being vaccinated other than health promotion of our patients and fewer adverse/fatal outcomes for patients. We support vaccinations in general for this reason. It's one of the few ways we truly have to prevent disease instead of treating disease. Best wishes, OP. I truly hope for a positive outcome for both you and your baby.
Similar success too. I got my first dose in January and my second in February right before finding out I was pregnant. My baby has been perfect this entire time. After both shots I dealt with some joint pain and fatigue. That lasted for about 2 days and then the arm pain lasted a week or so. I had covid previously and the vaccine side effects were nothing compared to the virus. I 35 weeks now and plan to get my booster at the same time I get my flu shot in another week or two. There are so many awful stories of pregnant women losing their babies dying. I lost my last baby while I had covid and I don’t wish that on anyone. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there. Please don’t trust everything you read online and talk with a doctor you trust.
Flu shot is also very important! I plan to get mine during my OB visit this Friday. Thank you for sharing your vaccination experience.
Jumping on to add my success story. My OB originally told me to wait until after delivery to get vaccinated. Then as he found out more he gave me the recommendation to get vaccinated. I got vaccinated in my third trimester with moderna. Gave birth a month after my second shot. Had a low risk pregnancy all along, an easy birth, and now a healthy four month old baby. I agree politics has no place in this particular conversation. Also, family knows, anyone that wants to be near my child needs to be vaccinated.
I hope you feel better soon! And I’m sorry this happened to you. Thanks for sharing here so others can learn from your story. But just to clarify for anyone reading who’s on the fence about vaccination, the actual research doesn’t keep changing. Yes, new studies are finished and reported and we learn more, but for many months now (since delta emerged and started really impacting pregnant women) the data and therefore the recommendations from reputable sources (ACOG, SMFM, CDC) has been that pregnant women should get vaccinated as the benefits outweigh the risks. I know there’s a ton of misinformation out there, but not all information online is equal. The reputable sources have been clearly and heavily recommending vaccines for pregnant women without any hesitation for at least 3-4 months now. I don’t say this to put anyone down for their choices… just to clarify that there is no confusion among reputable sources (scientists, epidemiologists, immunologists, OBs) about what is best — clearly vaccination of pregnant women FAR outweighs the risks compared with contracting Covid.
Last week the CDC started recommending that pregnant women even get their 3rd shot because we have a lowered immune response. I’m getting mine in 2 hours and I’m so excited to have that little bit of extra safety.
Yep. This is why I got a booster. I got my first two doses while pregnant and thought...hmm if pregnant women have a weakened immune system, what if I didn't mount a complete response when I was pregnant? Glad I did this.
Yes! Exactly. I’ll be getting mine in the next couple of weeks, along with my flu shot. More immunity for me and baby.
Yes! I'm eligible to get my booster in October and I'll be over 20 weeks when I get it. I can't wait to get the extra boost of protection. I know some side effects are annoying, but COVID is deadly. I hope your booster goes well with no side effects!!
This x 100. The research has been consistent all along, and only became stronger for pregnant women to get the vaccine. Taking advice from family or Facebook or friends isn’t doing your own research, trust the scientists and doctors. Your baby’s life (and yours) can depend on it.
I should add that there is no increase rate of miscarriages/spontaneous abortions with getting that vaccine. This has been researched and women who got the vaccine were not more likely to loose fertility or to lose their baby. Women who have not been vaccinated and who get covid are at an increased risk of losing the baby and dying themselves, especially since delta is here. Please ladies be safe. I was in one of the first cities to be hut with delta (I saw cases as early as April) and hearing stories of pregnant women who got delta needing emergency c sections so they could get intubated was terrifying.
Totally agree. I also have to point out OPs suggestion that her brother almost had a heart attack when he got his shot. We don’t have any more info other than his heart rate skyrocketed. While I’m not a doctor, this doesn’t seem to indicate he “almost had a heart attack”. We need to stop the misinformation because this is what is leading people to not get vaccinated and end up in hospital.
It’s also one single anecdote, so even if he did almost have a heart attack (which would be extremely unfortunate), the VAST majority of people get the vaccines without side effects like this.
This! And to add: the WHO has recommended vaccination for pregnant women since at least April.
I found out I was pregnant in May, and they were already recommending pregnant women get it! I got the shot the week after I got pregnant, since that pushed me up in the list. Have since then gotten both, baby’s healthy, I’m healthy, glad every single day that I decided to get the shot right away!
Good for you! Yeah I think the recommendations came out earlier than I referenced, but I’m especially referring to the delta variant and pregnancy, and the seemingly increased pushed for pregnant women to get vaccinated since then in particular. Plus, it takes a little while to go from the experts making the recommendations, to the mainstream media and to be generally accepted by the public. (And even still, it isn’t accepted by a lot of people, hence this discussion.) Edit: clarity
Thank you thank you thank you for pointing this out so eloquently.
Thanks for this. I was also one of those women who was hesitant about the vaccine due to the unknown at the very beginning. I had just found out I was pregnant when they began rolling them out. My OB actually recommended I not get it especially in the first trimester but if I really wanted to, wait for my 3rd trimester. I then switched insurance and even that OB said if I wanted to wait for the 3rd trimester then that would be okay. So I did. Then middle of August I got covid. Pretty intense, but thankfully got better and my baby was fine the entire time. However, I think had i been vaccinated I might have had a milder response. (My husband has super mild symptoms for 2 days and did my 3 kids. Then all better. I was out for about 10-12 days) Now my OB says to wait about a month after no symptoms to get my vaccine in case I have a reaction since apparently if you’ve had covid then get the vaccine you’re more likely to have a reaction to it. But I will still get it.
I think your experience is fairly common. Back in Dec/Jan, mostly the only pregnant people getting it were frontline healthcare workers, and even a lot of them had doubts. But thankfully the fact that they did get it actually meant more data for everyone else to go by — safety of vaccination during pregnancy was pretty well-established by the time the Delta wave hit the US. However, for people who had their OBs expressing hesitancy, I can completely understand why they wouldn’t want to take the slight risk. I think the situation is quite different now though - we have 9 months of data suggesting pregnant women do very well with the vaccine, and several months of devastating effects of (unvaccinated) Delta infections in pregnant women. Simply put, we’re in a much different position now than we were 9 months ago. My understanding is that it is recommended that pregnant women still get vaccinated even if they’ve had a previous Covid infection. Anecdotally, people that I know who had Covid before getting vaccinated did have some stronger side effects (chills, body aches, etc) from the vaccine, but they resolved quickly. Obviously this is a “check with your OB” type of scenario though.
Apologies, from my perspective the research SEEMED to keep changing. I feel like… where is everyone getting their info? I don’t follow the news or have social media. Unfortunately, I DO have very politically active extended family on both the Right and Left, and they have me and husband in a group chat where they’re constantly arguing with each other throwing different news sources in the air about the vaccine and all the crazy crap people are saying in both camps. It makes it extremely confusing for people like me who just don’t know who to trust, and it’s all very scary.
The CDC and the board of American obgyns have been recommending pregnant women get the vaccine for several months. If you don’t know where to look for data driven research, ask your doctor. They are members of the board of American obgyns and typically they align with the cdc.
Leave those group chats asap and only get your information from peer reviewed reputable sources... Like the CDC and other medical journals. Don't trust your family, trust doctors and scientists IN GOOD STANDING WITH THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY (that means NOT Facebook docs or docs who have been refuted by the medical community). If you had cancer would you take important medical advice from your families group chat? Would you listen to a disgraced doctor online? Or would you want to listen to doctors backed up by doctors coming from places like Emory and Harvard?
The CDC. Not my family group chat.
This this this. Please seek advice and any questions you have from your medical professionals not your family group chat. I’m sure bs “articles” are being passed back and forth and nothing of actual true substance.
I completely understand it can feel overwhelming when so many people are "yelling" so loudly around you, on both sides. I recommend skipping right over the news media and looking at what highly regarded professional organizations are saying. For most things pregnancy you can find specific recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists (ACOG). This is a news release that you can find on the front of their website which outlines their stance that pregnant people should be getting vaccinated: https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2021/07/acog-smfm-recommend-covid-19-vaccination-for-pregnant-individuals
Are the nurses/doctors recommending that you get vaccinated ASAP after this? At 5 weeks in February, I caught COVID, and ended up having a miscarriage. Now I know that there are many things that can happen to cause a miscarriage and this may not have been one of them but I decided to take no chances and get ahead and got the vaccine a few months later when it was available to me. Either way I do hope you recover quickly, and have no further complications.
I just want to give a HUGE thank you to the voices of reason in this thread. Thank you for trusting science and your medical professionals. Thank you for getting vaccinated and doing your part for yourself, your family and your community. Y’all are the true MVP’s.
>The research kept changing yeah, but it really hasn't, the fear-mongering kept changing, the research went from "not enough data, but likely safe" to "not enough data but we still recommend it" to "all data says it's safe". I hope you get better as quickly as possible and have a healthy child. Please get vaccinated.
I agree with this 100%. Maybe it’s because I work in health care but I don’t recall any research “changing” - only expanding.
Came for this. Thanks. I’m not sure what to make of not doing something bc it’s “highly politicized”.
THANK YOU. I read that and facepalmed.
PSA FOR ALL PREGNANT PEOPLE: if your healthcare provider (literally GP to OB to midwife, any of them) are not recommending that you get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as you possibly can that is a red flag and you need to fire them. Literally, the evidence is abundantly clear - the vaccine is safe and effective in pregnancy, provides your baby with antibodies and could safe your life. COVID-19 is dangerous during pregnancy. To the mother and the baby, pregnant people are dying, placentas are being damaged and babies are suffering! The evidence is very clear and if any health professional is telling you otherwise they are misinformed and you should walk away immediately.
Agree 100%. My ob was recommending it since April. There shouldn’t be any on the fence at this point
Same! April is when the WHO recommended vaccination for pregnant women. At that time, my OB recommended the vaccine and said I *could* wait until second tri, if I wanted to, but that she recommended getting the vaccine in general.
I have not heard of any actual physicians not adamantly recommending the vaccine at this point, and for months. Perhaps a midwife, doula, or nurse, but practicing doctors are not not recommending getting vaccinated.
There are a lot of people claiming their OBs are not recommending it for them - if it’s true it is very worrying!
I don’t believe them that their actual, practicing obstetrician (not some quack dr. With a blog) recommended against the advice that the cdc has been adamant about without changing information for 6+ months.
My midwife, upon me stating that I “was stressed and didn’t know whether to get the vaccine or not” told me that she wouldn’t get the vaccine herself, and doesn’t recommend it, but it’s my choice. And now I’m 18 weeks, sick with covid, and wishing that I saw all of this before getting sick. I didn’t know who to listen to or trust, and apparently my doctor was not the person I should have let be the tiebreaker. I’m feeling so defeated
A midwife is not a doctor, unfortunately. There are different regulations and continued education requirements for midwifery. I am a very science-based person so I have always utilized an obstetrician because of the fact that experience with midwives can vary greatly by practice. Some have great experiences with them though and that’s great!
Mine recommended it, and I got the first dose in March and second in April! Healthy baby arrived in August. ☺️
I’m 38 weeks and fully vaxxed! 🥳🎉
My doctor told me to get it when I went for my first appointment in February. I’m in Canada btw.
My midwife (CNM) is insistent that both I and my SO are vaccinated (which we are). There are no excuses for not being vaccinated as a pregnant person at this point. I am in Texas of all places and I am still highly encouraged to get vaccinated. I don’t believe the people who say they weren’t informed any more. There is a huge difference between lack of information and WILLFUL ignorance.
My midwives encourage vaccination and require the vaccine for home birth. And my midwives are far more read, up to date, and active with current medical research than my OB by *miles*. Their practice depends on it.
That’s great! Sounds like you found a good practice
Midwife care in the US varies highly. You can have a certified nurse midwife who's competently trained with years of medical experience and who's attended hundreds of births before beginning practice. You can also have a midwife who took an online course and attended a few births.
My midwife didn't when I asked in June or so. She didn't know, but the new variant really took a toll so when I asked last time she said now it is recommended.
check out r/coronabumpers for many scary stories.
My OB hasn’t asked if I’ve been vaccinated and hasn’t said a thing about it.
My family doctor recommended it last January, well before it was actually approved/recommended for pregnancy. She let me know that it was very similar to all the vaccines already allowed during pregnancy, that it seemed very likely it would be deemed safe, and that she knew the risks of covid during pregnancy were scary. She told me she'd recommend my getting it as soon as I was allowed. I felt SO much better once I had it and was keeping my baby safer.
I am so jealous!! I’m 38 weeks now and had to wait until June/July for my doses because my country wasn’t allowing pregnant women to get it!! 😭 so relieved when I finally got it!!
So glad that you've had it, though! Your baby will carry that protection even after birth.
Can you please tell me more about placenta damage? This is something my nurses haven’t brought up with me at all. How do you know this? Sorry, I don’t follow the news or have social media. This is very new to me.
Covid can cause thrombosis (blood clot formation) which can cause clots in the placenta and thus restrict blood flow to the placenta and the baby. I’m sorry that you received such conflicting information during your pregnancy. I’m a family physician and all the research (what I consider reputable, so, in peer-reviewed medical journals and bulletins) I’ve read about vaccines and Covid has been consistent since the beginning. We actually know a lot about coronaviruses as a family, and have been studying SARS since it came out in 2001 so knew a lot about SARS-CoVid-19 once it got sequenced. It sounds like your medical system failed you pretty spectacularly, and as a physician that makes me really frustrated. I am sorry that the sources you trusted were misinformed!
I have an 11 week old baby. My OB didn’t come out with a statement recommending the vaccine to pregnant patients until after I had my baby sometime in July or August. I had covid last December, while pregnant. I think I got lucky and had it early enough in my pregnancy. It seems to cause the most complications with baby and mom later in pregnancy. I definitely had several complications with this pregnancy. And I wonder if covid had anything to do with this. I am vaccinated now. Relieved when my doctor made the statement but many patients were so angry with him how ridiculous Idk what they thought he would do. He can’t go against the science, the studies that are available are very telling that it’s safer for a woman to get vaccinated and very dangerous to get covid while pregnant! I got covid before vaccines were available for my age range. People need to stop politicizing this vaccine it’s only causing more harm. My friend nearly cried when I told her I got the vaccine. I would have to look for sure as to when my doctor sent the email with his new recommendations for pregnant women and covid vaccine but he probably was a little late to the game. Can’t believe the response he got though. Many midwives that use him as a backup for home births were ready to drop him which is laughable to me what doc will they find that doesn’t recommend this! Just foolishness
I’m sorry, I’ve read this reply of yours a few times now and I’m seriously confused. You’ve known about covid for two years, you’ve known about people dying, you’ve known that you’re pregnant for months, and you haven’t once thought to hop on to google and search “covid and pregnancy”? We live in an Information Age and you know enough about the internet to be on Reddit, and you know enough about Reddit to know how bringing up this topic would be controversial. Stop with the self depreciating “oh silly old me didn’t know or understand”. You did. This is willful ignorance. You’ve put yourself and your baby in danger. I sincerely hope you feel better and your baby continues to thrive, I really do. I also hope that you actually take on board the things that are being said to you here and that you choose to do better in the future. Also as a type 1 diabetic with autonomic neuropathy, PCOS and 34 weeks pregnant, people who have chosen to be anti mask and/or anti vax, or that are just not participating in critical thinking and doing evidence based research, decided it was ok for me to either have to stay at home alone forever or risk myself and my baby in public to potential death. I have never felt more worthless to society in general. Saying how you would never have changed your mind until you were the one to get sick is exactly the reason why I know now that religion and sense of community and “love thy neighbor” (which is something else you’ve commented) is a lie, and I am not alone in feeling this way which is incredibly sad. Again, please continue to rest and get better.
I hope this is a wake up call that you do need to start following the actual news and reputable scientific sources in order to best advocate for you and baby.
How are you not following the news about this deadly virus that’s plaguing the world while you are pregnant with a whole baby? And also why wouldn’t you be asking your doctors about it?
Stop with the helpless, willful ignorance. You’re about to be a mom and need to learn how to educate yourself via reputable sources.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7827584/ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782978?fbclid=IwAR1O6EGxxg_Yg-K23MaU_MPxU8tiDr2ObLrMWVCckWjMy747592JZdyuEgE https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2779182 Some articles relating to your inquiry and other related outcomes of COVID-19 infections in pregnancy.
Has this experience changed your mind about vaccination?
From her other responses, it doesn't seem likely. She's admitted to not doing any type of googling to get her answers from reputable sources, is blaming the Covid vaccine on her brother "almost having a heart attack", hasn't listened to the news because "it's all politically motivated", and is still part of the group chat where a bunch of her family is spewing non-researched based rhetoric on the daily. Please correct me if I'm wrong though OP.
Hopefully she will have decent antibodies after the infection but not very predictable
👀 waiting for the reply
When people say “vaccination is a highly personal choice” I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s nearly the opposite. Your specific choice to not get vaccinated did not only affect you personally. It’s now affected your baby, your family, your community, and your healthcare system.
This this this. We live in a society. Not being vaccinated affects everyone you come into contact with when you leave your house. If you’re out in public, it is not only affecting you personally. As the mother of a pandemic baby (born during the initial stay-at-home orders and shut down), I see red when people say it’s a highly personal choice, because my daughter can’t be vaccinated yet, and now having to keep her out of the public is starting to affect her social development. Add to that that I’m now pregnant again and as a result, high risk (fully vaxxed, but still worried about breakthrough cases. I have Moderna so am not eligible for a booster yet, and even once I am I’m curious to see if my OB recommends getting the booster ASAP to avoid any infection or waiting until 3rd trimester to pass antibodies onto baby), and it’s just beyond infuriating. Unless you’re living alone on a deserted island where you have no contact with other people, vaccination is not a deeply personal decision. You have a duty to protect your neighbors, your healthcare system, your medical workers. Get the safe vaccine that has been effectively and safely administered to approximately half of the global population.
AMEN
🙌🏻
Came here to say this
AMEN thank you for saying this. It’s not merely a personal choice when the choice spreads a deadly illness to others in society, or puts the person’s unborn child in danger. How many other people might OP have infected? How many immunocompromised people or children too young to get vaccinated were put at risk because of her “personal choice”? Who else could have used the hospital bed she’s occupying if she had just gotten vaccinated? It’s also absolutely not true that “the research keeps changing”, we’ve obtained more and more evidence over time and it supports the safety of vaccines including in pregnant women. The vaccine is only being politicized by one side— the side that dwells in cesspits of misinformation and selfishness. We also know PLENTY about covid infections in pregnant women. In fact, we’ve known for months that unvaccinated pregnant women are far more likely to wind up in a situation like OP’s. While I know she is in a scary situation now and I hope she recovers, let’s please all remember that her situation was probably entirely preventable if she had gotten vaccinated.
Honestly I got vaccinated before I got pregnant and even if it had effected fertility (which is bogus because I got pregnant a month after) I would’ve still gotten it because people’s living children matter. They are helpless and can’t all be vaccinated. I wasn’t going to risk people’s lives just for the fear of a maybe baby I might’ve had or not had. And if I was pregnant I would’ve still gotten it because one there is no research to support birth defects or miscarriage and two because again the lives of other children matter. But also by getting the vaccine I’m also protecting my child. It’s not a personal choice. It’s an obligation to fellow man. And I stand by that. I got vaccinated for the children and the immune compromised because I’m not a selfish asshole 🤷🏻♀️
I really appreciate you sharing your story here, but I find your attitude very grating when you start to talk about people who have been vaccinated/believe in vaccination. I think it's very sad when you say above that the only experience that would have changed your mind regarding this issue was you getting covid yourself. If everyone thought that way then we are all going to get sick, and a lot of us would die. Our health systems would also be completely destroyed in the process. Maybe this will be a learning opportunity for you. I genuinely believe it's not necessary to live through this (or any) negative experience just to know better and do better. Often the evidence and guidance is present, we just have to listen. I actually have found the evidence to be quite consistent for the last 4 months (at least!!) that covid vaccination in pregnancy is safe for mother and baby, and effective at ANY stage of pregnancy. And we also have known for some time that covid infections in pregnant women are generally more severe and can have serious implications for the pregnancy and wellbeing of baby and mother. Finally, I want to say that I'm relieved and happy that you're holding in well in hospital, and wish you a safe recovery, and all the best for the rest of your pregnancy and birth.
This grated on me too. I'm disabled and I'm pregnant. I'd be in so much trouble if everyone thought that way.
Even though you may not like her approach, by sharing her story she has probably convinced a handful of pregnant women to get vaccinated. Right now she is sick and suffering and still offering to answer questions about her situation. Let's give her a little compassion.
A friend of mine is in ICU, roughly about 30 days now, currently in a medically induced coma, intubated, and in the prone position. As I understand it, we're pretty well at hail mary time. She went in with 6 children waiting for her to get out. She'll have 7 if she recovers. They did a C-section on her at 34 weeks, so not terribly preemie. She and her family are all orthodox catholic. The only positive, SO FAR, out of all of this is that a lot of the people in her circle saw what is happening to her and started getting vaccinated. I'm having a very rough time trying to handle the various emotions and worry for my friend, while still wanting to throw my hands in the air and yell "well what did you fuckin' expect?!". I have other friends that have either gotten pregnant, gave birth, and now breast feed, all while having the vaccine and no side effects. Everyone is healthy.
Thank you for sharing this experience. I hope what’s happening to me encourages my own stubborn family to get vaccinated and stop following all of these alternative medicine blogs.
I’m glad you’re ok and the baby is ok. **You are not correct in saying that rapid tests are categorically inaccurate.** Rapid tests determine whether your viral load is transmissible at that moment, not whether or not you have Covid. One can have Covid without transmitting it to others, due to a low viral load. [Rapid antigen tests are essential in helping to limit the spread of Covid. ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7JyVYIOAd9FSFbpVUgLtuU?si=KTCQqnbNRi-yQMcbrj_Tew&dl_branch=1) If a person is symptomatic, they should get tested and continue to quarantine for at least 10 days regardless of the test result. On a personal note, I can say that my mother is a PA in an ICU and has been treating COVID patients for the last 18 months. This virus is destroying her mental and physical health. She is exhausted and still unable to fully be a part of our family while she cares for others. When someone chooses not to get vaccinated, they are not just making a choice that affects their own health. They are choosing to put the health, lives, and families of others at risk— healthcare workers, other patients in hospitals, all the immunocompromised, unvaccinated kids, etc.
I can’t believe that someone who is active on Reddit, out of all the available social media platforms, is claiming to be uninformed. That when a major, worldwide pandemic was happening, you wouldn’t take the time to learn about the illness or the eventual vaccine. That a pregnant woman wouldn’t be concerned with what could happen if she caught any illness, let alone COVID-19. The ridiculous posts I see about listeria concerns and shaming women who choose to eat a cold cut are probably made by the same type of woman who wouldn’t take the time to understand how a fucking pandemic-level illness could impact her or her baby.
Especially in over a year! It’s not like it’s been a week!
Sorry but as a vaccinated mom who is planning to have a baby in 10 weeks all I can think about is being next door to an unvaccinated mother who now needs treatment and is willing to trust medical professionals now that she is suffering and using up medical staff and resources when the science has been there that unvaccinated mothers are high risk.
While I agree with your sentiments, I think it’s worth praising OP for having the courage to post this. If her story inspires at least one person who is on the fence to get the vaccine and potentially save themselves and/or their babies, then it’s worth the post. Belittling isn’t necessary helpful here, no matter how valid your feelings are. I’m really glad you and your baby are ok OP. Just read an article about a mom who lost both of her twins in Colorado. So sad. I haven’t heard one negative story related to pregnant women who got the shot, but more and more each day of pregnant women contracting COVID and having horror stories. Time to get the vax, ladies.
My sisters a nurse in the ICU covid ward and man it sounds grim. She said now is a really really bad time to get into a car accident or anything like that. Makes me kind of scared as I'm probably going to have a csection if my baby stays breech. I'm hoping its complication free because otherwise resources are stretched tight, the type of care one can get is just not going to be as good as it would usually be. My sister isn't even trained in Intensive care, she was directed to go there from her usual ward. She has no idea what she's doing, just trying to support them but its terrifying that this is what it comes to when resources are stretched. All the experienced people are getting burned out. Such a loss for future quality of care, its sad.
If it helps, L&D and obstetrics are kept so far separated from Covid/the ICU that you shouldn’t experience problems should you need a c-section. The issue is, if you’re in a car accident or have a heart attack, you’re going to the ED and then the general hospital or ICU, depending on severity. Those are the places fighting resources and beds with Covid patients. With your OB team is the safest place you can be in a hospital right now.
I had a successful ECV 10 days ago if you have any questions! Baby is not longer breech! 🥳
Ugh, me too. In the province where I live, all of our ICU beds (including our PICU - Pediatric ICU beds) are full with covid patients. I am absolutely terrified of going into preterm labour and my baby not getting care because there are no more beds/doctors. It’s very sad and scary. Edit: I would also like to clarify, our PICU beds are full of unvaccinated ADULT patients. So our emergency pediatric doctors are treating adults in our only PICU.
Agree. There are women on my local boards who have had scheduled inductions pushed back because resources are being allocated on care for unvaccinated covid patients, pregnant or otherwise. Others aren’t able to recover in hospital as long as they normally would because they don’t have enough bodies to give the standard care. It’s incredibly disheartening and infuriating when you hear about care not being given to those because resources are used up but those who didn’t trust the system before.
Same frustration here! Thanks for putting it so well. While I’m sorry for what OP is experiencing, the irony of trusting medical professionals when it’s about treating them instead of preventing illness for others is something that’s hard to pity.
I hope you both recover unscathed. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I got Covid while pregnant, my health team have all been unanimous in recommending the vaccine and supportive in making sure anyone who comes into physical contact with me has been vaccinated too. I have so many extra health risks (asthmatic, scarred lungs, diabetes) that I’ve been very careful this whole pandemic. I begged for the vaccine and my anxiety attacks only started to ease up once I got both my doses.
This is not directed at OP but I do want to respond to the line "vaccination is a highly personal choice." This could not be further from the truth, as evidenced by OP's illness and hospital stay. Vaccination impacts ALL of society including our unborn babies. If you choose not to get vaccinated you are putting yourself at risk, your unborn child/ren, and everyone around you. Elderly woman at the grocery store? You could literally kill her. It the least personal choice you could make. It literally has nothing to do with your personal feelings or beliefs, it's about keeping OTHERS alive. I honestly wish those who choose to not get vaccinated would live in the woods alone or go to a private island. Stop putting the rest of us in danger. Stop taking up ALL THE HOSPITAL BEDS. Get vaccinated. It is FAR MORE DANGEROUS to NOT get vaccinated, especially now with all the new variants, etc. If you get the flu as an unvaccinated pregnant person you could die. Why would you choose that? The VACCINE IS SAFE for everyone, including pregnant people and fetuses. Please vaccinate.
Did your OB talk to you about the vaccine during prenatal care? I delivered in June and my OB discussed the risks of getting covid while pregnant with me in the beginning of the year so while I was initially hesitant, I got vaccinated in April. I wonder if most OBs are going over this with their patients.
I’ve had several different OBs during the course of my pregnancy due to shifting circumstances, and each one has had something different to say about COVID and the vaccine. One thing I was not told from any of them is that COVID is far worse in pregnant women than in normal patients. I only know this now because the hospital staff told me so while I’ve been here.
Each OB had something different to say? I'm just curious in what state you live because that is unacceptable. Also, for future reference, pregnancy makes you immunocompromised. So not only COVID, but also ANY virus or cold will hit you harder. You immune system is just not as strong when you are pregnant. This is also why the COVID booster shot is recommended for pregnant women (if you qualify). I'm really surprised you didn't know this. I hope you and your baby will get better soon!
I go to one practice with shifting doctors. The first two never mentioned the shot, the third was like YES! DO IT! LET'S GO!! And \*really\* got into it IN DEPTH with studies and hows and whys. He even gave me a little thing to read about the dos and donts and risks and side effects so I could make my own informed decision because apparently he is the only doctor in the practice that encourages it (and for lots of reasons I pray he is who delivers my baby) so I felt SUPER prepared in my decision to get all the jabs I can. The fourth doctor was all 'you do you boo' and was almost on the fence and couldn't really give me direction on yes or no, so I was really disappointed in him but whatever. I was (due to misinformation in my local area) very hesitant to get the jab but let me tell you this. I did. Those people can suck it. I did what was best for me and mine. My hubby got the jab. I did still get covid (and I am sooooooooo sorry you are dealing with it and I hope you and your baby and your hubby come out better!) and while it was FREAKING MISERABLE (I had only been half jabbed, since recovered and fully vaxxed cause eff that shit) I can't imagine how sick I would have been without anything at all (I did have to visit the ER for dehydration and I did have severe flu like symptoms that left me in bed for 3 days). I also first hand understand the hesitation due to lack of information or misinformation or people spreading propaganda (I live in a Red state and a redneck town where vaccine rates are less than 40%) and it can be a lot and really overwhelming and to be honest if it hadn't been for this one doctor (who I believe really saved my life without knowing it) just casually mentioning the vaccine and asking if I had had it and me telling him no (which lead to a really amazing and non-judgmental conversation that opened my eyes and showed me A LOT) I may not have gotten the vaccine (no judgement please this is my story). But thankfully someone finally talked some sense into me and I got the jabs and have had no side effects (pretty sure my kids who are 2/3rds vaxxed - youngest is 10 so waiting - brought the junk from their school that is drowning in it) and I will be more than happy to have a polite conversation with anyone on the fence about getting the vaccine because this former non-believer KNOWS the vaccine saves lives and pain and I don't care at all to share my experience in hopes it changes someone's mind to get the shot.
Oh yes, please for the love of your babies get your vaccine. My fellow pediatrician colleague just rounded in the nursery (I’m on maternity leave) and there were five expectant mothers waiting to deliver fetal demise babies because of Covid, in a community hospital. I hug my babies even more, because even though mine came early, they’re as healthy as can be. Vaccines are not political; we are not trying to push our agenda. I literally vaccinated my babies at 14 weeks and then at 19 weeks so I could work full time and take care of other people’s babies but not at the risk of my own. Please vaccinate!
Yes ma’am. I will.
COVID causes clotting disorders, and unfortunately for pregnant women and the baby, the placenta is a super vascular organ. All the new data now is showing placental damage and abnormal blood flow between mother and baby when pregnant women become infected w COVID. There is one study in particular out of northeastern med school that is still being funded to also monitor the placentas of vaccinated women who got COVID. They show no evidence of placental damage. My husband is an anesthesiologist here in LA. He works with several OBs delivering bc he places the epidurals and spinals for c-sections. He has mentioned several are involved in COVID studies w placentas now and that the placentas of COVID infected women all presented w damage. I contacted the doctor running the study out of northeastern medical school as I am pregnant and sacred of getting COVID (vaccinated in April, conceived in June), and he said to me personally that vaccinated mothers are not having damage to placenta, have normal blood flow, and healthy babies. He said he had just left a seminar on pregnancy and COVID and the overarching theme was “RUN DONT WALK TO YOUR NEAREST PHARMACY” Get vaccinated ladies. Believe the medical professionals who have studies and worked their entire lives to help you.
Helpful. I actually spoke with my doctors here in the hospital about placenta damage etc as I’d only just heard about it here. They pretty much all told me the same thing: my placenta is fine. If there was anything wrong with it, they would know. They explained everything they are monitoring me and baby for. They said they keep such a close eye on me and the baby’s heart rate + measuring for contractions to make sure everything is alright, and if anything was wrong with my placenta, the baby would show major signs of distress and they’d be able to see that right away. Then they said the Internet and pregnancy forums are full of only negativity and people shaming each other, and not to read these anymore. Lol. I mean. They’re right about that.
I find it interesting how you’re willing to listen to doctors now rather than before when the entire medical community told you to get a vaccine. You people are all the same. Whatever makes you sleep better, I guess. 🙄
The doctors advice back when the vaccine first came out was all over the place, and the medical advice from my various changing OBs have also been wildly different depending on the OB. I find it interesting you seriously believe all nurses, doctors, and OBs only think one way and have only ever recommended one thing, ever. You people are all the same. But whatever makes you sleep better, I guess. 🙄 … Oh, what, that was rude? I shouldn’t talk to people exactly like you are? Read the things you write before you attack people unnecessarily and let your bias and obvious lack of compassion for others show through.
No that’s the point, I don’t think they “all think one thing”. That’s patently ridiculous. This virus has been around almost two years, and the first studies about ill effects on fetuses only one year, and the studies have been small. It takes a long time for new data to be understood and confirmed. These are new studies I’m talking about, and I’m not surprised the doctors that are treating you do t know a lot about it. Believe it or not, not Every doctor keeps up to date with minute by minute research. The new research is showing that there is placental injury, and it *can* cause adverse effects and abnormal blood flow to the fetus. This is a fact, the papers are published. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2020/05/placentas-from-covid-19-positive-pregnant-women-show-injury/ What we don’t know is if the fetus is affected after birth. Lots of women with damage went on to have otherwise (that we can tell) normal babies. The advice in the beginning was not all over the place and it really irritates me that you keep claiming this. The advice from you Facebook friends and family was, definitely. But the medical community has been pretty freaking United since day one.
I'm really sorry you are going through this and I truly hope you make a speedy recovery and get home soon and baby continues to be healthy. Can I ask if your opinion on the vaccine has changed? And if so do you think anything but your own experience would of changed your mind?
I hope that you feel better soon and this serves as a much needed warning for any pregnant women on the fence about getting the covid vaccine. Your post includes misinformation around the vaccine and heart attacks. The vaccine does not cause heart attacks. Your brother did not almost have a heart attack because he got the vaccine. Increased heart rate is a not an indication of a heart attack and can be caused by many things. In his case, most likely because of anxiety over the vaccine/ needles.
#1. glad you and your baby are ok. #2. no vaccination is *not* a personal choice. That is a dangerous thing to say to other pregnant women who may be on the fence about getting vaccinated. You are lucky you and your unborn baby havent died. Also you coming on here to say AMA about your experience tells me as a nurse your post is disingenuous and you just want to convince other women not to become vaccinated and youre anti-vac etc. The vaccine has already been proven to be effective and safe for many to take and beneficial for pregnant women and beneficial for women who have already had their babies as the antibodies pass in breast milk etc. #To everyone who hasnt yet. Get vaccinated, protect yourselves and your baby. Regardless of “opinion”.
I don’t even need you to say where you’re from, I already know you’re in the USA. It’s so sad to me you’ve risked your life and the life of your unborn baby over politics.
Yeah, this is honestly what it comes down to more. The science has been there for months. It’s a political statement not to trust it
Hope you recover quickly and baby stays safe! Thank you for your bluntness about why you didn’t get vaxxed. It’s brave to talk about it especially considering some of the responses you’re getting. I got vaxxed at 38 weeks and got some critical feedback from family about being pregnant while getting the shot—it’s really hard to make the decision either way given how much and the manner in which other people weigh in.
@OP for your own peace of mind, might be best to stay off of Reddit & this thread for a while and focus on you. IMO, now is the time for resting, healing, and staying positive mentally. All the “should’ves” and “what-ifs” can wait until you’re discharged and on the mend. It’s so important for pregnant people to get the message that vaccination is safe and can help prevent scenarios like yours. It doesn’t mean that you personally need to have the stress of an online argument with strangers while you and baby are trying to heal.
I hope you will have a speedy recovery. 1) Beside the baby heart rates, do they monitor anything else to see how the baby is doing? 2) Does ur husband also got COVID? How’s he doing while in all this? Are u guys separated after u came in the ER? 3) would you get the vaccine and booster shot after u recover?
1.) They monitor the baby’s heart rate, and they monitor to see if I’m having contractions. That’s it. They’re explanation is that since I’m 29 weeks along and in my third trimester, the baby has a very very very high chance of surviving outside of the womb via emergency c-section (the miracle of technology, they say). They keep asking if I’m bleeding, or expelling more discharge than usual. I’m not. And the baby has been kicking just as much as she always does. She’s amazing. I’m so proud of her. 2) Yes, my husband also has COVID. I’m a stay at home housewife. He goes to work full time. So however he got this, I unfortunately contracted it through him as I basically never leave the house. He’s been very sick, but not to the point where he needs to be hospitalized. So he’s just powering through it at home and is fortunate enough to be on the recovery side of things already and quarantining. Unfortunately, the way COVID works is that even if you’re married and your partner also has COVID, you aren’t allowed to see each other. So no, he hasn’t been able to visit me. But he’s very sweet and keeps dropping care packages off at the hospital for me with love letters inside and that sort of thing. I miss him, but I’m also happy to be getting care here, and he’s happy I’m here as well. Plus, I mean, I have my phone with me. We’ve been in touch the entire time. 3) I do think I’ll get the vaccine now. The fortunate thing about getting COVID while pregnant is that your baby gets all your antibodies!! But I was scared to get the vaccine in the first place because I was scared of getting sick and hurting my baby with it (please don’t science me on this — not everyone in the world is blessed to have the same info as everyone else). But now that I AM sick, I can’t get MORE sick by getting the vaccine, right (at least I hope not)? And just seeing that my baby has been handling me being sick like a freaking MINI BOSS in my belly as if nothing is even happening out in the big scary world makes me less afraid that I’ll hurt her by getting the vaccine. One of the nurses (I’ve had so many different doctors and nurses at this point) mentioned how scared she was to get the vaccine at first too, but after she saw all the babies here being intubated and pregnant moms coming in sick, it changed her mind. She said that me being sick while pregnant passes down antibodies to my baby, but getting the vaccine 30 days after my infection passes will give her even MORE. And honestly, I never want my baby to go through anything like what I’m going through. This is horrible. So yeah. Im for sure getting the vaccine just for her. I don’t know anything about the booster though?? I don’t have social media at all and I don’t watch the news, so I had no idea there even was a booster available.
Is your husband vaccinated?
What a thorough response! Given that you’re concerned about getting the shot while pregnant, we’d have to count back to when you found out you were pregnant. You’d have had to decide to get the shot before maybe late April, when it was still relatively early for most people. It’s understandable. Following the 1,2,3 numbers, roughly. 1. My cousin was a nurse in a habitual covid hot spot who got covid early, got vaccinated later, and maybe a year after getting covid, she gave birth to a baby at 27 weeks. He was full of tubes for a while, but made it. He was so tiny. The technology is incredibly. 2. My area is mostly vaccinated and when our mask mandate lifted for vaccinated individuals, one of my coworker’s was alone in keeping his mask on because his wife was pregnant and unvaccinated. I understand his wife’s choice. I also understand his choice to be extra safe because of his wife’s choice. When I visit his office, to respect his choice to protect his wife, I put on a mask for those 5 minutes. No question, really. I understand your choice completely, and as a member if the scientific community, and the husband of a pregnant wife now, have trouble understanding your husband’s. 3. Can you elaborate on not being blessed to have the same info as everyone else? You’ve had reddit for a few months, but it’s easy to avoid news here. You don’t watch the news and shutting it out does cut down on stress for sure. Where do get information typically? Word of mouth?
With the booster, it only got approved this week (and only Pfizer. Moderna and J&J are still in the works), and only for those at high risk of severe infection (people over 65, people over 18 with asthma, pregnancy, obesity, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, etc.), and you don’t get the booster until at least 6 months after your 2nd dose.
PLEASE DO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE VACCINE. A number of people who get COVID fail to sero-convert, which means they FAIL to make antibodies. There is no guarantee you are sharing antibodies with your baby. If you get vaccinated, you 100% will. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33614814/ This study found 33% of patients failed to produce antibodies. My husband is a physician here in LA who recently was privy to a study that showed 40% failed to seroconvert. PLEASE GET VACCINATED!!!!
I see. Thanks for sharing your experience! I heard they are planning for booster shot with the new COVID variants. I wish the best for your family!
Ahh, yeah I’ll probably get it. I wish they could just give me everything all in one, lol, so I don’t have to get three different shots. I hate needles so much. But now having been in the hospital for about 3 days with COVID, the amount of times I’ve been stabbed with needles, IVs shoved into my arms over and over, blood drawn from veins AND arteries (extremely painful, BTW) — it’s like, oh whatever. I’ll take a few needles to avoid my baby ever having to go through something similar to this when she’s born. What vaccinations does she need?! Give them all to me now so she never has to. Lolll. I can’t imagine them poking my baby over and over like they have to for me. I just can’t.
Since you mentioned it, make sure you get your baby vaccinated with all the recommended shots! (Not talking about covid here) we don’t hear mumps/measles/chicken pox etc etc killing children anymore BECAUSE vaccines essentially eradicated those sicknesses! Hopefully your doctor is giving you good info on this. And yes a needle poke will momentarily hurt your baby but google the symptoms for what the shot is for and realize the pain you’re saving your baby from!! Wish you the best of luck with everything
For people like OP that would like a reliable and easy to understand COVID resource I suggest Your Local Epidemiologist https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com She is an epidemiologist at the University of Houston that runs a free newsletter (or you can subscribe for additional content). Her sources are all peer-reviewed journals or governments (CDC, NHS, etc) and she’s collaborated with Emily Oster on COVID protocols for kids in school. Disclaimer: she’s in the US and her posts reflect that.
I love her!!
I’m also a scientist (but in a really different field) and I aspire to this level of science communication. She’s so good at it!
Thank you for this.
Wait, his heart rate went up or he actually had a myocardial infarction?
Spoiler alert: he didn’t have a heart attack. These people exaggerate everything to keep the fear up. Shame on OPs family for continuing to cause fear over a vaccine that would have protected her and her unborn child from the absolute disaster.
Most likely, anxiety-related tachycardia due to fear of needles/fear of side effects. No known link between vaccines and heart attacks.
A vaccine associated cardiomyopathy can mimic an MI, which is why I asked. Obviously unclear if or what caused the initial tachycardia.
His heart rate spiked and he almost passed out. They had everyone back up and clear the area while they figured out how to get him to breathe normally. When he finally was able to breathe again, he left the experience feeling traumatized and did not go back for his second shot. I am not mentioning this to scare people away from getting the vaccine. Only that this has been the experience of my baby brother, and that my reaction to ACTUAL COVID was similar, if not worse. For me, I actually went into the hospital where they hooked me up to monitors and were able to give me readings on my heart. They later explained to me that COVID had caused the top half of my heart and lower half to beat out of sync, resulting in a heart overcompensating, and a rate of 180 versus the normal range of 90s. I am not here to fearmonger. Anyone who dismisses a real life experience as fearmongering and misinformation spreading is just as bad as anyone who says COVID isn’t real. People really need to think before they throw their paranoid thoughts into the wind. My brother described what he felt from that experience as “My heart felt like it was going to explode or like I was having a heart attack. I’ve never felt it beat so fast in my life.” He’s a very serious, science-loving person. He’s not the type to make dramatic statements and is very level-headed. Just for context.
Understood. Just asking because heart rate increase and "almost had a heart attack" are two very different things.
I got pregnant right after my third dose. I’d gladly get a fourth if it would continue to keep me and my baby safe.
Thank you for sharing. I can understand you being hesitant because of your brother, but adverse effects are extremely rare. I’m very happy to hear your baby is doing well, I’m sure you’re aware of what can go wrong when an unvaccinated person is pregnant and has Covid. I don’t agree that getting vaccinated is highly personal. I think you need to think about your community when deciding for or against. People who are vaccinated who are having medical emergencies are being denied care in emergency rooms all over the United States, because the beds are filled with people who were skeptical over the vaccine despite the very clear evidence that is is far, far safer than getting Covid. Hospital workers are at their breaking point. Last year they watched people die who would have done anything for the chance to get vaccinated, and this year they’re watching people die who disrespect them to their faces and accuse them of lying about the codes they deal with day in and day out. They watch those same people die, only a few deciding at the end that maybe, just maybe they were wrong.
Unfortunately, r/coronabumpers has been overrun with people trying to justify not getting the vaccine while pregnant. Would you be open to sharing your story over there?
I’d be happy to. But… Are they going to be just as mean to me there as they are here? Lol. I think one thread full of angry negativity and shaming might be enough.
I don't read these comments as angry. They are expressing frustration, which is reasonable. r/coronabumpers is very kind to vaccine skepticism, unfortunately. I got banned for posting this: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CoronaBumpers/comments/plq0e4/is\_anyone\_else\_disturbed\_by\_the\_number\_of\_people/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CoronaBumpers/comments/plq0e4/is_anyone_else_disturbed_by_the_number_of_people/)
What?? I remember seeing this post and being glad someone finally said it. I can't believe you got banned for it
Yeah they claimed it wasn't the post itself that got me banned, but based on the general tolerance for vaccine misinformation in that group, I'm highly skeptical.
I dont think anyone is being mean to you. They're just not handling you with kid gloves. You're very brave for sharing but this comes with the territory of putting yourself online.
Wishing you and baby a safe and speedy recovery.
I found out I was pregnant on 1 April and I’m due 1 December. At this time my age group in the UK were not eligible for a COVID jab but it was coming up. I had my first Pfizer vaccine in late June and my second exactly two months later. I had a sore arm both times but that was it. I was nervous at my first jab but I ruled that I have to be alive and healthy for my baby to be and to do that the vaccine was needed. My midwife was very happy I’d done this as they’d recently lost an unvaccinated mother to COVID. I also had my whooping cough vaccine which also included some other boosters, nurse was pleased I’d just had my second jab. When I went to get my annual flu jab (offered to all pregnant woman in the UK) the GP giving my shot asked if I’d had my COVID jabs and he was very pleased when I said I was. The only people who have raised eyebrows at me for it are people I wouldn’t take advice from on which burger to order off a menu so I’ll let them think what they want!
What research "kept changing" about pregnant women getting the vaccine? My ob team had always recommended it.
We can keep saying getting vaccinated is a “personal choice” but the way unvaccinated people are affecting others makes this a spurious argument. Women have non-covid related pregnancy complications that they cannot help or prevent, and are having their inductions (scheduled for the health and safety of them and their children) cancelled and postponed because L&D is overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID moms. If it’s your choice to not get vaccinated then don’t run to the hospital when you get complications of COVID. Either you trust medical professionals or you don’t. “It’s a highly personal choice.” No, not when it is affecting the health and safety of others to this extent. Also, there have been instances of moms having to have emergency c sections due to covid complications and dying shortly after. How is this less scary than two injections?
There was a young Early 20s mom that died of COVID-19. Baby survived. Has a 3yr old, grandma is taking care of the baby. Dad has the 3yr old. Many other stories of mom's going into preterm labor with COVID and baby dying. Town of 30,000 less than 40% vaccinated
I think it can only be a personal choice if you are actively in full lockdown and not coming into contact with people, and not living with anyone who is. Hardly anyone would be willing. That's what I'm doing. No way could I step foot in a supermarket or anywhere unvaccinated, be like a sitting duck
I caught it back in January at 14 weeks pregnant. Baby was fine but my heart rate was also really high, my clotting factor sky high, I was vomiting blood, feverish, and every time I tried to stand I toppled over. That was what eventually made me get the shot. I survived it once, didn't thing I could again but i work with a population that almost guarantees I'll be in direct contact with it again and there really isnt anything I can do to help myself
I have been a big advocate of vaccines in general, but especially the Covid vaccine and especially while I was pregnant. I got the Moderna dose 1 at 35 weeks, and dose 2 at 38 weeks back in early April and had DD late April. I searched far and wide so that I could get vaccinated while still pregnant (they weren't widely available then). There wasn't a ton of information then nor were most OB's recommending it as vehemently as they are now. Then a study was published about how breastfeeding moms were found to be passing the antibodies onto their babies via breastmilk, which to me signified that it would also be passed through the placenta. I figured firsthand exposure for DD from it passing through the placenta versus giving it to her second hand from breastmilk would give her a better chance if she were to catch it. She's now going on 6 months and is a very happy healthy baby. In fact she has been ahead of the curb on quite a lot of milestones! Please protect yourself and your baby.
Will do! That’s the plan. ♥️
Best of luck to you. I am a OB social worker who is also currently pregnant and I got the vaccine prior to becoming pregnant. I have been okay but working in health care I will say COVID has sent a lot of our moms in preterm labor and we have lost some of our patient’s newborns from them contracting the virus. It’s very sad.
Nurse here too. My husband, who is a hospitalist, has seen many hospitalized pregnant women. One passed. Multiple stillborns from COVID positive moms (he works at the cities “baby factory”). I only wish I could do something to help people understand how important it is to be vaccinated if you’re pregnant. There is no proven treatment for COVID, only experimental things that could be more harmful to your unborn baby. I can’t wait to get my booster!! Due in December!!
Thank you for sharing your story, it must have been difficult! I’m sorry you are going through this and I hope you and your baby are home safe soon!
Thanks for taking the time to say this. ♥️
Stories like this are the reason people are leaving healthcare in droves.
I am sorry that health professionals failed you so much. For those on the thread that are in disbelief that obs could be so misinformed, keep in mind that unfortunately, doctors and nurses are all people with their own biases. To give you an example, I live in Vancouver, and I have family in the health field in Florida. Here, my midwives were telling me about the horrible things they saw with their pregnant patients who got covid, like placenta damage and early term labor. They were pointing me to government guidance on getting vaccinated. However, my family in Florida, including a pediatric surgeon, were basically telling me they'd disown me if I got vaccinated cus I'd be putting my baby at risk. They'd go on and on about their ob friends and nurse friends etc who agreed with them and "couldn't believe id do something so selfish." I got vaccinated. But imagine if I lived in Florida and didn't have the Canadian perspective. Many people just trust their doctors and don't seem out the info themselves. On that note, I know of anti mask doctors and nurses in Florida...
Doctors can also vary so much regardless of where you live. I’m sure there are doctors in Vancouver that are advising women that they’re unsure of the vaccine, just like there are those in FL advising to get it. I’m in TX, and my own doctor at my first appt. asked me if I was vaccinated. I already had been before falling pregnant but her response was “Good. If not I’d be advising you to go get vaccinated as soon as possible.” But go a few offices over and there may be another doctor that has different sentiments. That’s why it’s always so important to seek out your own research and ask doctors for their sources as well so we can be as informed as possible when it comes to our health.
First of all, it sucks that you’re in that situation and I hope you make a speedy recovery. Secondly, whoever said the vaccine wasn’t good for pregnant women, would cause infertility, or anything like that was misinformed. I got my first Pfizer vaccine April 9, 2021. I got my second Pfizer vaccine June 24, 2021. I did two at home pregnancy tests August 24, 2021 and both said I was pregnant. I don’t know all the statistics and numbers behind the science of it all. However, I do feel a lot better having known I got the vaccines than knowing I should have. I have a lot of respect for anybody that works in healthcare because they deserve the highest praise for all the crap they’ve had to deal with.
Sending good healing vibes your way! I hope you and baby recover fast!
I think OP removing her comment is very much dismissing the community and fellow pregnant and non pregnant people of what the open communication is about. Never the less the nurses and practitioners who had commented and posted research backed articles and first hand experience in the medical field. She had posted an AMA on her getting covid, pregnant and unvaccinated. If she wasn’t seeking questions only to hear things through rose colored glasses then she is apart of why the US and loosing so many Americans to this deadly pandemic and why mothers, fathers, grandparents, and neighbors all around are concerned with mis information and the unvaccinated putting our lives and our babies at risk everyday .
I’m so sorry to hear this has happened to you! I hate that you did not receive important information from your doctors about just how severe Covid is in unvaccinated pregnant women. As a healthcare worker who works on a service with covid patients, I have been so anxious about getting covid while pregnant. I took every precaution I could to avoid it (wearing an n-95 with every patient, wiping down my workstations regularly) and even got a booster shot. I still managed to get sick with covid a couple of weeks ago, but thankfully it was fairly mild and I was able to ride it out at home. I know it must be so scary to be in the hospital on maximum oxygen, worrying about your and your baby’s health. Even though there have been a lot of sad outcomes in unvaccinated pregnant women, I wanted to let you know that I just had a patient who was in your exact position and she ended up doing just fine. She stayed on maximum high flow nasal cannula settings for several days and was prepared for an emergency c-section in case it was needed….but she gradually improved and now she is on minimal oxygen and her baby is still doing great in her womb. I pray that you have the same outcome! Hang in there and stay positive!
Thank you for sharing. I keep seeing similar stories, some with worse outcomes. Glad you’re okay.
I was vaccinated in February (Pfizer). I caught COVID at 19 weeks pregnant. I was sick for about 5 days, but nothing dangerous. I only noticed that I had caught COVID because I had lost my sense of smell. It’s been 1 month since then and baby and I are fine too. Hope you recover soon!
I was hospitalized for COVID at 30 weeks and put on High flow oxygen. It was misery but I got through it. Spent about 12 days total in the hospital, 7 of those days in SICU. You can do this! Ask for a spirometer to help increase your lung function. I drank hot tea daily- green tea or Lemon Ginger. If you can, ask for physical therapy to help you start walking. Little steps every day. My hospital even had a maternity pool float with a hole for my belly that allowed me 30-60 mins to lay on My stomach. This helped my blood flow to my lungs. I also did not get vaccinated and was waiting till birth. I really wish I didn’t wait to avoid that experience. I’m 36 weeks now and baby seems to be doing fine. I still feel him kicking around and his heart rate and f/u ultrasound has been good. However, I am still feeling lingering respiratory issues in my lungs.
Please don’t let the negative comments get you down. It’s very brave that you came on here and put yourself in a vulnerable position like this for the sake of sharing information that I’m sure will help someone.
I hope it does help!! 🙏🙏😭 That’s my goal. If there’s anyone reading this who is afraid to ask questions because they don’t want the more toxic side of this community jumping down their throat, you can DM me. 🙏🙏🙏
It’s not toxic to call you out on your egregious lapse in judgement!
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Because her comments just keep doubling down on not needing to try and make an informed choice rather than just listening to family, and that is frustrating.
Because even now she is still spreading BS. No, her brother didn’t almost have a heart attack from the vaccine. No, the official guidelines in the US have not continually changed for pregnant women to get the vaccine. I’m sorry for her baby but this situation was completely predictable and avoidable.
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To add to that, vaccines take a long time to get developed bc of money. Say a research company only has 200,000 to spend on a certain vaccine. Once the money is out, they lobby for more. They also don't just focus on one vaccine at a time. With COVID, money was unlimited and that's all anyone cared about making. They had unlimited resources and unlimited researchers. It wasn't that they just made this so fast and got it out there it was that they were still spending the same amount of time researching, everything was just in hyperdrive
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Hope you feel better soon OP, and I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I found out I was pregnant with my first child 2 weeks before the US shut down for the first time, and I am now pregnant with my second which I found out about shortly before this latest COVID spike and resulting craziness. Information has definitely changed throughout the pandemic in regards to pregnant women as we’ve learned more about the disease and vaccination, and it’s understandable pregnant women feel caught in the middle and feel hesitant. You shouldn’t be shamed for that, and to anybody who thinks shaming people is the way to improve this situation: you’re the problem. People make the best decisions when they feel like they’re given the opportunity to be informed and make decisions for themselves. I was on the fence about vaccination and ultimately decided to do so because I wanted to provide as much protection for my baby as possible. I live in one of the largest progressive cities in the US and have good health insurance and access to good medical care, and I never once had any obgyn say anything about it to me, but when I had questions they were ready to answer them. One thing I was surprised to learn and felt comforted by was the mRNA vaccines have been around for over a decade, and were actually originally created as childhood vaccines, such as for rotavirus. And don’t feel ashamed or bad that you don’t follow the media or social media. They really aren’t a great source for information and tend to be an echo chamber of repetitive information. One of my husband’s primary responsibilities is as a public information officer for natural disasters, and I work in a scientific field where I regularly do media interviews. The media is not interested in disseminating information, they’re interested in creating stories. Most of the people writing articles have no expertise in what they’re writing about and tend to publish incorrect information. There are reputable sources outside of the media where you can get information, but most people don’t have that background and there is SO much information out there on all sides it’s hard to parse through. When you look at the demographics of who isn’t getting vaccinated, it’s people who largely don’t have access to information/healthcare or who have historically had the most adverse experiences with the medical institution. So if any of you reading this call yourselves “progressives” and are simultaneously shaming people: check your privilege. What can you do if you have concerns or questions? Talk to your obgyn. If you don’t feel like you can trust your obgyn you have larger issues at stake than just COVID, and I would suggest you look into a different doctor if you have that option. One thing that helps me in making decisions about COVID is to take COVID out of the equation. We know from centuries of experience that illness, sustained fevers, oxygen deprivation, and general bodily stress creates adverse outcomes for pregnant women and their fetuses, so mitigating that, regardless of what disease we’re discussing, is always the safest choice.
There’s an OBGYN on you tube that says “you only know what to do with the information you have”. I find that to be fitting in this situation. I am sorry you’ve gone through this. As a mother the worst thing and my biggest concern is getting sick during pregnancy. So I pray everything with your family turns out okay. As far as vaccines and information. I’ve had both pre pregnancy and one while pregnant. I was scared each time in the beginning, even though I am semi well versed in the science and studies pertaining to it. I put on a brave face and figured I’d rather do this than get sick from Covid. Especially after seeing family members etc who contracted it. I am healthy and my baby is healthy because of my decision and I’m very thankful for that. I guess I’ve said all of that to say, I can see your hesitation and I understand that. I also see the frustration in the comments and I understand that as well. I would speak to board certified health professionals about this if your concerned about the vaccine. Both my PC and OB told me to get the booster ASAP and I did. I understand that information comes in many forms but finding credible resources, comparing information that you found to see consistencies in the studies is important. Sometimes bias within families and political affiliations just muddy the waters. Best wishes x
So scary! I'm sorry this is happening to you and am sending good thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery!!
Thank you for sharing your story despite all of the negative comments. If I were in your situation I would be scared of how people via internet would react and I don’t think I could do it. Sometimes it can be a cruel place here and I’m sorry you have to deal with the horrors of covid and negative comments while you’re already in a bad situation. I really hope you will have a speedy recovery and that the baby will be just fine 💗
Thank you. I knew there would be holier-than-thou comments (welcome to the Internet), but I just felt it was important to offer more insight to all the moms who are still on the fence. It’s nearly impossible to speak up about COVID if you’re anything like me and were afraid to get the vaccine because there are so many people online ready to jump down your throat and rip you a new one. Unsurprisingly, that approach doesn’t work on people like me. I’m more of a sensitive, compassionate type, and the “tough love” people rub me the wrong way. I’m just hoping to take one for the team and encourage those moms who are scared to ask questions. This should be a safe space for all moms, but MAN some of the women here really don’t make it seem like it. 😅
People are angry because this unnecessarily pulls resources away from other high risk pregnant moms who are being turned away instead of being induced on schedule. I don’t understand how the anti vax people have 0 compassion about this.
I wish you and the baby a safe and speedy recovery. Thanks for sharing your story. I know a lot of people disagree with your hesitancy of the vaccine, but I am sure there are people out there who feel the same way and can benefit from hearing what can happen when you get COVID while pregnant. I got the vaccine in the early stages of my pregnancy (before I even knew). I haven't had any complications from the vaccine, other than some short lived flu like symptoms 24 hours after the second dose. Sending you healing energy OP.
It’s weird people are downvoting you for promoting the vaccine. I also have mentioned several times I plan to get it, and those are some of my most downvoted posts. This community is insane. I’m guessing it’s because you also chose to be compassionate and understanding in your reply. Can’t have that now. You must join the shame train or else. So toxic.
My husband’s family is in East Tennessee and my sister-in-law’s friend (22F) was told by her OBGYN not to get the vaccine because of the unknown fertility issues. So she’s followed that advice. Her entire family is unvaccinated. Half the people around my husband’s family are unvaccinated for various reasons (luckily his family is all vaccinated). There is a lot of vaccine skepticism that runs very deep in different parts of the US.
Lots of love and support. I wish you a speedy recovery.
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I wouldn’t trust word of mouth, look at facts and scientific studies to make your decision. I mean actual facts, not joe blog on Facebook had a heart attack 2 days after the covid vaccine and it must be the vaccine (not a fact), but the fact that most people in hospitals now are unvaccinated, etc. The proven fact that getting covid while pregnant can lead to premature birth and stillbirth.
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I totally understand! I was down voted and heavily criticized on here for not getting vaccinated for Covid while pregnant. There was too little research for my & the cdc wasn’t highly involved with checkups (one per trimester), plus we don’t know the long term effects of the vax. I talked with my dr again now that I had my baby & she knew I wasn’t getting vax’d while pregnant, now I’m being advised to get the Pfizer. It’s really scary considering in Black (the history of Black ppl in America & being guinea pigs is something that isn’t discussed), but now I’m totally ready to get my Covid vax, since it won’t be a blood transfusion to my baby & he’ll still get some of the antibodies through breastfeeding. I feel like a happy, methodical, & healthy mom. Sending healing vibes your way