What is the evidence of direct harm from COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant/post-partum women and the unborn child?
How likely are the COVID-19 infection and vaccination to harm pregnant women, their unborn children and women who have recently given birth?
In July 2021, guidance was given that all pregnant women should be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, there is concern in Wales that vaccine uptake in pregnant women is low, which has resulted in increased hospital admissions in this group. The evidence for direct harm to pregnant women caused by the virus infection or the vaccination was reviewed in order to strengthen the advice being given to pregnant women.
The results showed that pregnant women have same risk of getting COVID-19 as other healthy adults. Women who are
- overweight or
- suffering from other medical problems or
- from an ethnic minority background or
- aged over 35 or
- from a disadvantaged background or
- working in public facing jobs
are at greater risk of having a premature or stillborn baby if they have COVID in the later stages of pregnancy.
There is growing evidence that pregnant women may be at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, particularly in late pregnancy, but high-quality evidence is lacking at this stage. Research continues in this area which may improve current understanding.
Currently, the evidence is unclear about the long-term effects of COVID-19 in pregnancy for either women or their children.
Vaccination against COVID 19 has been shown to be effective with no safety issues from studying 200,000 women in the UK and USA who had the vaccine during pregnancy. No evidence was found of harm caused by vaccination to the unborn baby. The vaccine does not affect fertility, and the vaccine should not stop women attempting to become pregnant.
Advice on vaccination
Healthcare professionals should recommend vaccination against COVID-19 at any time during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding. The preferred vaccines are the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
Vaccination is particularly important for:
- pregnant women in the at-risk groups shown above as they are more likely to become severely unwell
- those working in healthcare or other public facing occupations.
RES00024