Pregnancy and Covid-19 vaccination

In March 2021, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that pregnant women should be offered COVID-19 vaccines. 

Following wide-scale research by Oxford University, clinical trials on the vaccine during pregnancy and observing symptoms of those pregnant women who have contracted COVID-19, NHS England, the National Childbirth Trust and the Royal College of Obstetricians all recommend that pregnant women take up the vaccine.

I’m young, fit and healthy so what benefit is the vaccine to me?

Across the country, maternity units have observed that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is having a much more significant impact on pregnant women than previous strains of the virus and otherwise healthy mums-to-be are struggling when infected.

Pregnant women with COVID-19 have a higher risk of intensive care admission than women of the same age who are not pregnant. Women infected with COVID-19 are also 2-3 times more likely to have their babies early than women without COVID-19.

To put that into context, in England between April and July this year, 171 pregnant women were admitted to hospital with Covid symptoms - 98% of them had not had the vaccine.

Of these, one in seven needed intensive care, and one in five gave birth prematurely—one in three developed pneumonia.

Bottom line - if you struggle to breathe and need to be ventilated, your baby may be deprived of oxygen or develop fetal distress. You are also more likely to need an emergency caesarean to preserve either your life or that of your baby.

Is the vaccine safe for my baby?

The vaccine has been proven in clinical studies to be safe for you and your baby. Just like the flu jab, it’s recommended you take the COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself and your baby.

In the USA, around 90,000 pregnant women have already been vaccinated, mainly with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and no safety concerns have been identified.

The World Health Organization and the regulatory bodies in the UK, USA, Canada and Europe are continuously reviewing evidence on COVID-19 vaccines.

For further information on the COVID-19 vaccination and details of your nearest clinic, please visit the Birmingham and Solihull COVID vaccination website:

If you would like to discuss COVID-19 vaccination, please contact your midwife, doctor, or nurse.