Pregnant women are being encouraged to talk to health professionals, including occupational health practitioners, about Covid-19 vaccinations, and should be assured they will be given the time they need to discuss any concerns they have.
Data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), one of the successors to Public Health England, showed that women in England who were vaccinated against Covid-19 while pregnant had good birth outcomes.
In the eight-month period between January and August 2021, 355,299 women gave birth, of whom 24,759 had received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
There was a similar very low risk of stillbirth, prematurity and low birth rate in vaccinated and unvaccinated women, and the UKHSA reiterated that people who get the jab are far more protected against the risks that Covid-19 can bring than unvaccinated people.
The data showed that:
- the stillbirth rate for vaccinated women who gave birth was approximately 3.35 per 1,000, a similar rate for unvaccinated women (3.60 per 1,000)
- the proportion of women giving birth to babies with low birthweight was 5.28% among vaccinated women and 5.36% among unvaccinated women
- the proportion of premature births was 6.51% for vaccinated and 5.99% for unvaccinated women.
Dr Latifa Patel, interim representative body chair at the British Medical Association, hoped the data would reassure pregnant women that the Covid-19 vaccine can protect them and their baby.
“98% of pregnant women who go into hospital with Covid have not been vaccinated. This shows very clearly how important it is to be protected against the virus,” said Dr Patel.
“Pregnant women must be able to have a conversation with a healthcare professional they trust about the risks of not having the vaccine. Women must be allowed to raise their concerns and talk personally about their own situation, and know that their healthcare professional will give them the time that they need.
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“We also call on the government and UKHSA to ensure that all communication about vaccination in pregnancy is clear, targeted, open and accessible so that women can feel confident in their decision-making.”
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at UKHSA, said: “Every pregnant woman who has not yet been vaccinated should feel confident to go and get the jab, and that this will help to prevent the serious consequences of catching Covid-19 in pregnancy.
“This accumulating evidence will also allow midwives and other health professionals to provide better information to pregnant women and help to drive uptake higher.”
The data showed stark differences in the uptake of the jab between different groups of women.
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Those living in the most deprived areas in England were least likely to have been vaccinated with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine before they gave birth. Just 7.8% of women living in more deprived areas of England had a vaccine while pregnant, compared to 26.5% in less deprived areas.
Pregnant women of black ethnicity were also the least likely to be vaccinated at the time of birth (5.5%), followed by women of Asian ethnicity (13.5%) and mixed ethnicity (14.0%). Women who were from a white background had the highest vaccination rate during pregnancy (17.5%).
