Pregnant Moms Who Get COVID-19 Vaccine Could Transfer Antibodies To Babies: Study

The sooner a pregnant woman gets vaccinated against COVID-19, the better. A new study has found that pregnant women are more likely to transfer protective antibodies to their babies if they get vaccinated at an earlier stage in their pregnancy.

Dr. Emily Miller, the study's co-author, shared that this finding is another reason for women to not worry about getting vaccinated while still carrying their babies in their wombs.

"This just gives extra fuel for people who are on the fence or just think, 'Maybe I'll wait until after I deliver,'" she stated. Dr. Miller is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a maternal-fetal medicine physician at Northwestern University School of Medicine.

"We strongly recommend you get the vaccine while pregnant. But if you're fearing vaccination might harm the baby, these data tell us quite the opposite. The vaccine is a mechanism to protect your baby, and the sooner you get it, the better," Miller said in a news release.

The researchers studied the blood of 27 pregnant women who had received either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines during their third trimester. The findings revealed that the women developed a strong immune response after inoculation, suggesting that the vaccines help protect pregnant women from COVID-19, as per WebMD.

The data also showed that a longer time between vaccination and delivery is associated with a greater transfer of antibodies to the unborn babies.

Out of the 28 newborns (one mother had twins), only three of the infants, including the twins, did not have antibodies at birth. Their mothers received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine less than three weeks before giving birth.

A presentation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last March mentioned that as of February, data from their v-safe tool on the COVID-19 vaccine did not indicate any safety problem, as per U.S. News. So far, the safety profile of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women has shown promising results.