When Pfizer and Moderna were running initial trials for their COVID-19 vaccines, pregnant women were missing from the test groups.
Also, what was missing from the trials were the information about how the shot would affect them and their unborn children.
But new research from a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed Thursday that pregnant and breastfeeding moms showed a strong immune response to the vaccine.
"Maternal vaccination gives us a double bonus. It gives us protection for the pregnant woman and gives us protection for the newborn as the sole strategy to protect the newborn,” said Dr. Ronald Gibbs with Stanford University’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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The study found the protection exists because vaccine-generated antibodies were present in umbilical cord blood and breastmilk after maternal vaccination.
Bay area mother and teacher, Alyssa Lopez found the results of the latest study very reassuring.
“I actually was not worried about getting the vaccine. I was very excited to get it,” she said.
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Lopez is expecting twins. She already has received both doses of her COVID-19 vaccine after doing her own research and consulting with her doctor.
“I got the first dose of my vaccine fairly early on in my pregnancy,” Lopez added. “But again, I checked with her before I did anything. Even though, I was confident that it was safe.”
Researchers looked at 131 women who had received either the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine. 84 of them were pregnant and 31 were breastfeeding.
The study’s authors also noted that side effects after the vaccination were rare.
