From the Guidelines
No, COVID-19 vaccination does not increase the risk of miscarriage in pregnant individuals. The most recent and highest quality study, published in 2022 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1, recommends that all pregnant women should be routinely offered the COVID-19 vaccine due to mounting evidence of its safety. This study emphasizes the importance of maternal vaccination as an effective means of infectious disease prevention for pregnant women and their infants.
Key Points
- Multiple large-scale studies have consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy and do not raise the risk of pregnancy loss 1.
- The vaccines currently authorized for use have been extensively studied in pregnant populations with no safety signals for increased miscarriage rates.
- Getting vaccinated during pregnancy is recommended by medical experts because COVID-19 infection itself poses significant risks to pregnant individuals, including higher chances of severe illness, hospitalization, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
- Pregnant individuals can receive COVID-19 vaccination at any stage of pregnancy, and the timing does not impact safety.
- The benefits of vaccination during pregnancy extend beyond protecting the pregnant person, as antibodies generated can pass to the baby, providing some protection after birth.
Recommendations
- Pregnant women should be informed of the potential benefits of vaccination for themselves, their fetuses, and infants and should be proactively offered routinely recommended vaccines to allow timely administration before delivery of the infant 1.
- Healthcare providers should be provided with sufficient training to support pregnant women throughout the decision-making process.
- Sufficient time should be allowed to address any concerns women may have regarding the safety of these vaccines during pregnancy.
Safety and Efficacy
The study published in Reviews in Medical Virology in 2022 1 also supports the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women, stating that vaccinated pregnant mothers can pass the IgG antibodies produced to their offspring, and the transplacental transfer of vaccine-induced antibodies to the newborn is more likely if the mother is vaccinated in the third trimester.
From the Research
Evidence of Increased Miscarriages Following COVID-19 Immunization
There are no research papers provided that directly investigate the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of miscarriage in pregnant individuals.
- The studies available focus on various aspects of COVID-19, including transmission dynamics 2, 3, vaccine administration techniques 4, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 5, and the efficacy of vaccines against emerging variants 6.
- None of these studies specifically address the question of whether COVID-19 vaccination increases the risk of miscarriage.
- Therefore, based on the provided evidence, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the potential link between COVID-19 vaccination and miscarriage risk.