There ’ s scant evidence to back up the recommendation of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and their babies .
Health Asia-Pacific .
“ But as of now , there is insufficient data , either animal or human , to prove whether or not there are severe adverse effects in the growing foetus or in the baby after it is delivered ,” he added .
Nevertheless , pregnant mothers who opt to take the vaccination , either because they ’ re frontline workers or women in a high-risk category , are advised to wait until after the 14th week of pregnancy .
This is because most cases of miscarriages normally occur in the first trimester , so taking the vaccine after the peak time for spontaneous miscarriages is advised .
“ There ’ s a lot of growth and development in a new foetus during the first trimester ; the organs are being formed , so the recommendation is to do it when the foetus is well-formed ,” said Dr Leong .
Before recommending that a patient take one of the vaccines , he said he would first assess if the need outweighs the risk .
“ I would probably ask the patient to consider whether she ’ s at high risk to get COVID-19 . Maybe she does a lot of travelling or is in a high-risk profession . The benefits do outweigh the risks , though at this moment , we ’ re not certain what those risks are . If they ’ re at risk of getting COVID-19 , it ’ s best that they get the vaccination ,” he added .
In Singapore , Dr Suresh Nair , a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Seed of Life Fertility and Women ’ s Care Medical Centre , which is located at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital , said that Singaporeans were at a very low-risk of COVID-19 infection , with very few new cases each week .
For this reason , the need for pregnant women to take the vaccine is confined to very limited instances when it is absolutely necessary . Even for those working in the healthcare system , pregnant women are not mandated to take the vaccine .
“ It ’ s left as being voluntary ; expecting mothers are not barred from it , though neither are they encouraged to take it . It ’ s left up to the physician who is performing the vaccination ,” he told Global Health Asia-Pacific . n
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com APRIL 2021
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