March 1st, 2022
CDC recommends that women who are pregnant, are breastfeeding, are trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future get vaccinated and stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.
— Official CDC Health Advisory recommending “urgent action to help protect pregnant people and their fetuses/infants” from COVID-19.
A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Brian Donnelly alluded to breastmilk as “nature’s first vaccine,” as antibodies in the mother’s body pass easily into her milk, and then into her nursing baby, providing life-saving immune protection. In the case of COVID-19, we now know that human milk contains enough SARS-CoV-2 antibodies for up to six months after the mother has been vaccinated to protect her infant from infection with this dangerous virus.
We also know that maternal antibodies are transferred to the baby before birth through the placenta and umbilical cord — another example of nature’s brilliance: protecting the species’ most vulnerable members from microbial harm.
Maternal antibodies continue to circulate and protect young infants from a variety of potentially dangerous viral and bacterial pathogens, and that protection can last for months after birth, and after babies stop breastfeeding.
It was assumed that expectant mothers who received COVID-19 vaccines prior to giving birth would pass along protective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. A new study published this month in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reveals that babies born to mothers who are fully vaccinated receive excellent immunity. Their risk of hospitalization for respiratory failure and other complications is significantly lower compared with newborns and infants who didn’t receive maternal antibodies (ie. mothers who weren’t fully vaccinated), especially if the shots were given close to the baby’s birthday:
Effectiveness of maternal completion of a 2-dose primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy against COVID-19 hospitalization among infants aged <6 months was 61%. Effectiveness of completion of the primary COVID-19 vaccine series early and later in pregnancy was 32% and 80%, respectively.
David K. Li says the researchers surveyed 20 children’s hospitals in the U.S. between July 2021 and January 2022:
The results showed that 84 percent of the babies hospitalized with Covid had been born to unvaccinated mothers. The study included 43 infants admitted to an ICU with Covid, and found that 88 percent of them had mothers who did not get vaccinated before giving birth.
“The bottom line is that maternal vaccination is a really important way to help protect these young ones,” [Dr. Dana] Meaney-Delman told reporters.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: The vaccines are safe, even during pregnancy. COVID-19 is not.
Read more about COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy on The PediaBlog here.
