Pregnant & Breastfeeding Women Show Strong Immune Response to Covid-19 Vaccine, Finds Study

The recent study has found that breastfeeding and pregnant women show a robust immune response to Covid-19 vaccine. Published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the study found that the immune response among pregnant and breastfeeding women is similar to that of those who have not conceived or given birth. The study also found that mother’s antibodies were present in their breast milk as well as umbilical cord blood, suggesting that mothers pass on immunity to their babies.

According to Dr. Andrea Edlow, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and a study co-author, the findings of the study are extremely significant for OB-GYNs and other medical professionals. Until now, OB-GYNs and other medical professionals had no data because pregnant and breastfeeding women were not involved in the initial Covid-19 vaccine trials.

It must be noted that for the study, conducted at two medical centers, included 131 women of reproductive age, having 84 pregnant women and 31 breastfeeding women. Furthermore, 16 women were used as the control group. All women were administered both the doses of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. As per Edlow, when the blood of the women was tested afterwards, vaccine-induced antibodies were found to be the same in the three groups of women. In addition, antibodies were found in umbilical cord blood as well as breast milk, suggesting that the baby has protection but until when, it was unknown. The expert also noticed that the antibodies generated in response to the coronavirus vaccine were at much higher levels than those found in women who had already had the infection.

It must be noted that the study did not shed light on whether the novel coronavirus vaccine is overall safe.