Yes. In a study of 3,750 infants born to pregnant individuals with COVID-19, 8.1% of newborns tested positive for COVID-19.

Source: CDC: COVID Data Tracker

Pregnant or recently pregnant individuals acquiring COVID-19 have a much higher risks of dying, being hospitalized, needing a breathing tube, and having a preterm birth or stillbirth. In a short time, 15 pregnant women died of COVID-19 in Mississippi alone and 8 of those deaths occurred in a few months during a Delta variant peak in 2021. Being overweight at the start of a pregnancy or having diabetes further increases these risks. Overall, pregnant individuals with COVID-19 are 22 times more likely to die in pregnancy compared to uninfected pregnant people.
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When pregnant individuals become ill with COVID-19 and need a ventilator, one way to improve their breathing is by delivering the baby. This means that delivering a baby prematurely (weeks or months too early) could help the pregnant person survive, but at the expense of the baby’s health. One study found that unvaccinated pregnant individuals with COVID-19 had a 59% higher rate of preterm birth compared to those without COVID-19. Preterm birth is harmful for your baby and can lead to serious complications including developmental and physical disabilities, long NICU stays, and even fetal death.

Sources:
• CDC: COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant People to Prevent Serious Illness, Deaths, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes from COVID-19
• WJTV: 72 unborn babies, 15 pregnant women have died due to COVID-19 in Mississippi
• ‍CDC: People with Certain Medical Conditions
• JAMA Pediatrics: Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality Among Pregnant Women With and Without COVID-19 Infection

Yes. When pregnant people become ill with COVID-19,damage can occur to the placenta. Pregnant people with COVID-19 disease had double the risk of stillbirth with the early SARS-CoV-2 variants. The Delta variant has been linked with a 4x higher risk of stillbirth. High levels of virus have been found in a stillborn fetus in several cases after the mother had COVID-19.

Yes. In a study of 3,750 infants born to pregnant individuals with COVID-19, 8.1% of newborns tested positive for COVID-19.

Source: CDC: COVID Data Tracker

Pregnant or recently pregnant individuals acquiring COVID-19 have a much higher risks of dying, being hospitalized, needing a breathing tube, and having a preterm birth or stillbirth. In a short time, 15 pregnant women died of COVID-19 in Mississippi alone and 8 of those deaths occurred in a few months during a Delta variant peak in 2021. Being overweight at the start of a pregnancy or having diabetes further increases these risks. Overall, pregnant individuals with COVID-19 are 22 times more likely to die in pregnancy compared to uninfected pregnant people.
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When pregnant individuals become ill with COVID-19 and need a ventilator, one way to improve their breathing is by delivering the baby. This means that delivering a baby prematurely (weeks or months too early) could help the pregnant person survive, but at the expense of the baby’s health. One study found that unvaccinated pregnant individuals with COVID-19 had a 59% higher rate of preterm birth compared to those without COVID-19. Preterm birth is harmful for your baby and can lead to serious complications including developmental and physical disabilities, long NICU stays, and even fetal death.

Sources:
• CDC: COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant People to Prevent Serious Illness, Deaths, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes from COVID-19
• WJTV: 72 unborn babies, 15 pregnant women have died due to COVID-19 in Mississippi
• ‍CDC: People with Certain Medical Conditions
• JAMA Pediatrics: Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality Among Pregnant Women With and Without COVID-19 Infection

Yes. When pregnant people become ill with COVID-19,damage can occur to the placenta. Pregnant people with COVID-19 disease had double the risk of stillbirth with the early SARS-CoV-2 variants. The Delta variant has been linked with a 4x higher risk of stillbirth. High levels of virus have been found in a stillborn fetus in several cases after the mother had COVID-19.

Any time, and the sooner the better! It is safe for you and your baby to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at any stage in pregnancy. Given the risks of COVID-19 in pregnancy and complications for your health and your baby’s health, the sooner you can get vaccinated, the more protected you both will be.

Source:
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Get Your Recommended COVID-19 Vaccine during Pregnancy
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Vaccinations Needed during Pregnancy

As of May 6, 2022, the Washington Department of Health paused the use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (Johnson & Johnson)  for people 18 years and older. The update followed guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

The update followed data presented to the ACIP about thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. TTS is a rare but serious condition involving blood clots and a low blood platelet count seen in some people who received the J&J vaccine. Though TTS was rare, the FDA showed the risk of certain side effects warranted limiting the vaccine. Nationwide, 54 cases of TTS, including nine confirmed deaths, were reported, which is a fraction of a percent of the 14 million doses of J&J given overall. While TTS was been seen in both men and women, the most at-risk group was women 30 through 49 years old.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, both of which are mRNA vaccines and use a different method than the J&J COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the virus, have not been linked to blood clots at this time.

Sources: 
Yale Medicine - The Link Between J&J’s COVID Vaccine and Blood Clots: What You Need to Know

All of the COVID-19 vaccines “train” the immune system to identify, attack and destroy a tiny piece of the virus. This is how your immune system “learns the enemy” and can then quickly respond and bring in waves of immune cells to defeat the real virus in the future.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work by introducing messenger RNA (mRNA) into muscle cells. The cells make lots of copies of the COVID-19 spike protein, which triggers the body to make a protective immune response. The mRNA is quickly degraded, because the cell breaks it up into small harmless pieces after a few days. mRNA is very fragile, which is one reason the Pfizer vaccine needs to be kept in very cold freezers. There is no “live virus” in the COVID-19 vaccine or any other harmful ingredients, thus making the COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant and breastfeeding individuals.

Source: CDC: Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

This is being studied, but appears to be rare.  Period changes might occur in far less than 1% of individuals and are short-lived. In the United Kingdom, out of more than 49.1 million women who have been vaccinated there were 41,332 reports of possible menstrual cycle changes (0.0008%). 
A normal period can vary widely from person to person and month to month. Exercise, diet and even stress can change a period, as well as lots of medications including birth control. Several studies in different countries indicate that the psychological stress of the pandemic has increased the irregularity of women’s periods. In a study of 127 women with the COVID-19 disease, 16% noticed changes in their menstrual cycle, which most commonly was reported as an irregular period. Interestingly, women reporting more COVID-19 symptoms were more likely to have an abnormal period. In summary, it appears that irregular periods are commonly reported after COVID-19 disease (16%), especially when women are ill, and rare after COVID-19 vaccination (<1%). More research is still being done on this topic.

Sources:
• National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD): NIH funds studies to assess potential effects of COVID-19 vaccination on menstruation
• American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG): SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent changes in the menstrual cycle among participants in the Arizona CoVHORT study
• Frontiers in Endocrinology: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women’s Reproductive Health
• The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research: The impact of COVID-19-related mental health issues on menstrual cycle characteristics of female healthcare providers
• The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Triangle of COVID, anxiety and menstrual cycle
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Labor of Love Podcast: Episode 3: “Understanding COVID-19 and Fertility”‍

Yes. There are many studies now supporting that COVID-19 disease can temporarily harm a man’s fertility or permanently harm a man’s ability to have an erection. After reviewing research databases, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine said, "No evidence of any connection between COVID-19 vaccines and male infertility was found, but there were 50 reviews, 17 commentaries/letters to editors and nine original articles on how COVID-19 disease could possibly impact male fertility." We have listed some of the ways that COVID-19 disease can do this below:
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1. Temporary decrease in sperm count and quality: A severe illness (of any kind) is known to lower sperm counts in men for 3-6 months, as having a fever during a severe illness disrupts the process of making sperm. Therefore, it is not surprising that men who have had COVID-19 disease have been reported to have lowered sperm count and quality. In general, changes in sperm count due to an infection are typically short-term and recover after 3 months of time. Longer term studies of sperm count and quality in men recovering from COVID-19 are needed.
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2. Testicle swelling and pain. Several studies indicate that about 10-22% of men with COVID-19 disease will experience swelling of the testicles and pain, possibly due to a direct infection of the testes.
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3. Erectile dysfunction. COVID-19 is known to injure blood vessels in many organs including the lungs, heart and brain leading to higher rates of heart attack and stroke. A penile erection depends on strong blood flow into the penis and healthy veins as well as, testosterone. There are many reports and studies of men losing their ability to have an erection after COVID-19 disease, which may be due to blood vessel damage, lower testosterone and/or psychological distress. How frequently this might occur is unknown.

Sources:
• First International Journal of Andrology: Impaired semen parameters in patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: A prospective cohort study
• Canadian Urological Association Journal: Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on semen parameters
• The World Journal of Men's Health: Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 in Human Semen and Effect on Total Sperm Number: A Prospective Observational Study

No. Thousands of women have become pregnant after receiving one or more COVID-19 vaccines. More than 4,800 people had a positive pregnancy test after receiving a first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Another report documents more than 1,000 people becoming pregnant after receiving any COVID-19 vaccine. Medical societies that serve women who would like to become pregnant have overwhelmingly recommended that people thinking about becoming pregnant get the vaccine. Studies that included patients undergoing fertility treatments who also received the COVID-19 vaccine found that there were no problems with implantation or early pregnancy development.

In addition, there is no link to male infertility after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. In fact, sperm count and quality has been studied in men before and after COVID-19 vaccination. Not only were there no harmful effects found, but sperm counts were also actually higher after vaccination. This was within normal individual variation and not thought to be due to the vaccination.
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Sources:
• The New England Journal of Medicine: Preliminary Findings of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons
• COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Pregnant Women During Pregnancy — Eight Integrated Health Care Organizations
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: COVID-19 Vaccination Considerations for Obstetric–Gynecologic Care
• American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM): Patient Management and Clinical Recommendations During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
• American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM): Joint Statement Regarding COVID-19 Vaccine in Men Desiring Fertility from the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology (SMRU) and the Society for the Study of Male Reproduction (SSMR)
• JAMA Network: Sperm Parameters Before and After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination

Yes. Compared to natural infection, the vaccine triggers the body to make powerful protective antibodies, which are successfully transferred to fetuses during pregnancy. Many people have become sick with COVID-19 more than once, which is likely the case due to the weaker immune response that comes from natural infections.

Your disease is likely to be very mild and in some cases, people have no symptoms at all with a breakthrough infection. This means that your vaccine worked – it prevented a severe disease that could have killed you or caused a bad outcome in pregnancy. In studies of pregnant people hospitalized with COVID-19, 97% were unvaccinated.

Source: CDC: COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant People to Prevent Serious Illness, Deaths, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes from COVID-19

Yes. The COVID-19 booster shot is recommended in pregnancy. If you are 5 months out from your second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and are pregnant, you are due for your booster shot. You can receive your COVID-19 booster at any stage in pregnancy. This will help give your immune system an extra memory booster to continue protecting you and your baby against exposure to COVID-19.  Receiving a COVID-19 booster vaccine when you are eligible is extremely important in protecting you and your baby from severe disease.

Sources:
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Coronavirus (COVID-19), Pregnancy, and Breastfeeding: A Message for Patients
• Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM): Provider Considerations for Engaging in COVID-19 Vaccine CounselingWith Pregnant and Lactating Patients
• American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM): Patient Management and Clinical Recommendations During The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

The CDC is recommending that an individual should get any of the current COVID-19 vaccine boosters that are currently available.  The timing of boosters and which booster to obtain continues to change and evolve.  Please check the latest information on boosters from the CDC.

Sources:
• CDC: COVID-19 Booster Shots , Comparative Effectiveness of Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) Vaccines in Preventing COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Adults Without Immunocompromising Conditions
‍• medRxiv: Heterologous SARS-CoV-2 Booster Vaccinations - Preliminary Report

Every few months it seems that we are confronted with a new COVID-19 virus variant.  In the case of the Delta variant, pregnant people acquiring this COVID-19 variant were reported to have a 2-4 times higher risk of severe disease, preterm birth and needing to be placed on a ventilator.  Whether new COVID-19 variants will cause more or less infections and severe disease in pregnancy will take time to figure out.  As pregnant individuals are one of the highest risk groups for severe COVID-19 disease and death, it is extremely important to get vaccinated, receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster when eligible, stay careful with masking, social distancing and keeping your “bubble” small.

Tdap stands for tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis. The Tdap vaccine helps protect you and your baby from three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. You may have also heard of the Tdap vaccine referred to as the “whooping cough” vaccine. “Whopping cough” is another name for pertussis.

The Tdap (whooping cough) vaccine is recommended during the third trimester of pregnancy because it helps protect your newborn from whooping cough (pertussis). Babies are not able to get the whooping cough vaccine until they are two months old, so they are vulnerable to whooping cough infection in the first few months of life. When a pregnant individual is vaccinated for whooping cough during pregnancy, their body produces germ fighting cells that cross the placenta and can help protect their newborn baby until they can be vaccinated.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is an infection that causes severe coughing and sometimes difficulty breathing. It can affect anyone, but the infection is most serious in newborn babies, and can even cause death. Unfortunately, the CDC reports that about 30% of babies in the U.S. <1 year-old who get whooping cough are hospitalized and 1 in 100 who need treatment in the hospital die. Newborns whose mothers did not receive the Tdap vaccine in pregnancy are at greater risk of severe illness.

Source:
https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/about/complications.html

The most reputable society of doctors caring for pregnant women, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, recommends that pregnant individuals get the Tdap/whooping cough vaccine between 27 and 36-weeks of pregnancy. Vaccinating during this time allows the pregnant person’s body to make cells that detect and fight off germs and transfer those cells to the baby.  Pregnant individuals should receive the Tdap vaccine during every pregnancy.

Source:
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/09/update-on-immunization-and-pregnancy-tetanus-diphtheria-and-pertussis-vaccination

Yes! Studies have shown that there is no increased risk to you or your baby after receiving the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy.

Most adults will have received the Tdap vaccine at some point during adolescence. If an adult in close contact with your baby has never received a Tdap vaccine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends the adult receive a Tdap vaccine 2 weeks before visiting your baby.
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Source:
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/09/update-on-immunization-and-pregnancy-tetanus-diphtheria-and-pertussis-vaccination

Most clinics carry the Tdap vaccine and you can receive the vaccine at one of your routine visits. If your provider does not carry the Tdap vaccine, most local pharmacies can provide the vaccine.