No differences were found between placental health indicators, birth weights, or well-being scores between vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women, indicating that COVID-19 vaccination is safe for use in pregnant women.
Vaccination against COVID-19 does not affect placental health in pregnant women, according to findings published in a research letter in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
These findings highlight the safety of vaccination during pregnancy for both infants and pregnant women, according to the authors.
Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital examined 18 indicators of placental health linked to a higher risk of adverse health problems for babies and their mothers to assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination beyond the maternal and infant outcomes evaluated in previous studies. Placental health indicators include the presence of lesions, blood clots, and inflammation.
They collected data from clinical data on infant birth weight and Apgar scores, assessing well-being at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth.
A total of 431 women who gave birth to single babies at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical Center between April 2020 and July 2021 were included in the analysis. Results for 164 women who had been fully vaccinated during pregnancy were compared with 267 unvaccinated women.
The vaccinated and unvaccinated groups had similar demographics in terms of maternal age, gestational age at birth, and mode of delivery. All women in the study had no evidence of current or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Complete vaccination was defined as receiving at least 2 doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Of the vaccinated women in this study, 130 received the Pfizer vaccine and 34 received the Moderna vaccine. The mean gestational age was 25.7 weeks for dose 1 and 29 weeks for dose 2.
No significant differences were found in placental health indicators, birth weights, or Apgar scores between vaccinated and unvaccinated women.
Researchers note that 17.1% of vaccinated women and 26.2% of unvaccinated women had co-morbidity with preeclampsia, hypertension, or intrauterine growth restriction; however, a sub-analysis excluding those cases did not change the findings of the study.
Detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were found in the cord blood of 95% of babies born to vaccinated mothers, as researchers expected. The authors note that previous studies suggest that vaccinating mothers during pregnancy not only protects them from serious illness from COVID-19, but may also protect their babies for several months after birth.
The authors concluded that their findings add to the existing body of knowledge showing that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy.
Reference
COVID-19 vaccine does not negatively affect placental health, study finds. ScienceDaily. news item. July 22, 2022. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220722123242.htm