Should Breastfeeding Women Get The Covid-19 Vaccine?

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you may be wondering whether you should take the covid-19 vaccine or not. 

A recent study has shown that breastfeeding women who have received the Pfizer vaccine have antibodies in their breast milk, which could help protect their babies.

Let’s tackle a few questions regarding the vaccine together before you can decide for yourself. 

Are Vaccines Normally Used in Pregnancy?

Pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding are already routinely and safely offered vaccines in pregnancy. 

Non-live vaccines such as those against flu have previously been shown to be safe in pregnancy.

Many of these vaccines also protect the babies from infection. 

Are Covid-19 Vaccines Considered Safe in Pregnancy?

There is limited information about the effects of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy. 

However, around 90,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated mainly with mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, with no sign of problems.

The mRNA vaccines are not live virus vaccines, which means that these vaccines do not enter the nucleus and do not alter human DNA.

As a result, they cannot cause any genetic changes. 

Pfizer and Moderna are generally considered safe in pregnancy.

They have been given to around 90,000 pregnant women in the United States and the data have not raised any safety concerns.

There are no reported concerns with the AstraZeneca vaccine in pregnancy.

However, there is less experience in pregnancy with this vaccine compared to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Are Covid-19 Vaccines Considered Safe on Babies?

New research finds that vaccinated women who breastfeed can pass covid-19 protection to their babies.

The study involved 84 women who received 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine 21 days apart. 

Samples of breast milk were collected before the first dose and then after 2 weeks (once a week for a total of 6 consecutive weeks).  

2 weeks after the first shot, the level of antibodies have significantly increased.

This spike further increases after the second vaccine dose. 

Only 4 newborns experienced fever and congestion, among which 3 cases were resolved without treatment. 

The results from this study seem promising.

However, there are no available data on the long-term effects of vaccination on the mother, the breastfed baby, and on milk production or excretion. 

Participants in this study are still having blood drawn at regular intervals to determine what protection the antibodies against COVID-19  may provide to the baby, and how long they might last. 

Hopefully we will receive better insights soon!

Meanwhile you can read our article Is the Covid-19 Vaccine Safe while Trying to Conceive for more information about safety concerns and fertility.