Thread by @VikiLovesFACS

"I'm #pregnant and I want to get the #COVID19 #vaccine to protect myself and my baby. But should I wait until after 12 weeks?"

🧵...

Two studies have looked at pregnancy-specific adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Both found no increased risk of miscarriage.... 2/

nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

The other thing that is a theoretical worry in the first trimester is a high fever (more than 39C for more than 24h) affecting the baby's development.

Although mild fevers are a common side-effect of vaccination, a fever as severe as this is really uncommon... 3/

... in fact, you are more likely to experience such a fever if you catch COVID 🦠. 4/

Furthermore, if you do get a post-vax fever, bringing it down with paracetamol will prevent any such problems.

Paracetamol is safe in pregnancy and does not stop the vaccine working. 5/

https://twitter.com/VikiLovesFACS/status/1372937824719224834?s=20

Here's the guidance from @RCObsGyn on this. For those in the USA, the guidance from @acog is the same. 6/

rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-…

So the evidence says that if you want to just get protected, there's no reason not to get your #COVID19 #vaccine in the first 12 weeks of #pregnancy.

(But take paracetamol if you get a fever). 7/

But some people just feel more comfortable waiting until after 12 weeks. Is that okay? 8/

COVID is most dangerous after 28 weeks of pregnancy, when it is associated with an increased risk of intensive care for you and your baby, and an increased risk your baby will be preterm or stillborn. 9/

bmj.com/content/370/bm…

If you delay your first dose to 12 weeks, under the current interdose interval in the UK, you should be fully protected by shortly after 20 weeks.

That's still well in advance of 28 weeks. 10/

So I would say that, if you feel more comfortable waiting until 12 weeks, the evidence suggests that this should not be harmful.

But remember, you don't have to wait until 12 weeks if you'd rather just get on with it! 11/11