STUDY: COVID-19 Vaccines Not Linked to Pre-Term Births
A new CDC study shows that COVID-19 vaccines are not linked to pre-term births
One of the more dangerous and unexpected, side effects of the pandemic is the number of pregnant people who are afraid to get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to rampant misinformation that the vaccine is dangerous for pregnant people (it’s not). False information that the vaccine could lead to complications, including pre-term birth, keeps many pregnant individuals from getting the life-saving vaccine, so now the CDC is out with more data and more proof that will hopefully, and finally, put those rumors to rest.
According to a new study, the data shows that pregnant folks who got the COVID-19 vaccine are NOT at a greater risk of giving birth prematurely.
Per the CDC, “Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk for severe illness and adverse birth outcomes, yet many remain reluctant to be vaccinated.” To help quell fears, the CDC analyzed 46,079 pregnant women, with 10,064 of those women receiving at least one dose of the COVID vaccine during their pregnancy, and found that “birth outcomes did not differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated women.”
Results showed that of the total sample size, including vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, only 6.6 percent of the babies were born prematurely — before 37 weeks — and 8.2 percent were born small for their gestational age.
“Results consistently showed no increased risk [for vaccinated pregnant folk] compared with risk among unvaccinated pregnant women,” the study continued.
“These data add to the evidence supporting the safety of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy,” the CDC writes. “To reduce the risk for severe COVID-19–associated illness, CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination for women who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including those who are lactating), who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future.”
The vaccine hesitancy among pregnant people is staggering. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) have been enthusiastically encouraging pregnant people to get vaccinated for nearly a year now. Plus, studies like this one and the multiple studies that show that the COVID-19 vaccine does NOT increase a person’s chances of miscarrying should hopefully, by now, put soon-t0-be-parents’ minds at ease.
