There was widespread circulation on social media that the covid-19 vaccine can have an adverse effect on the placenta.
The fetus carries out respiration and receives nutrients through the placenta during the pregnancy.
Covid-19 Vaccines Do Not Have Any Effect On The Placenta
No scientific basis has been found behind the social media circulations, as implied by medical experts.
What science says…
According to Dr. Richard Beigi, the vaccines causing any harm to the placenta do not have any medical basis. Vaccines have never caused any fertility issues, he further adds.
Dr. Richard Beigi is the head of an expert group dealing with immunization, infectious disease, and public health preparedness. It is associated with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Even after the clarifications and assurances, the circulations prevail in social media, which can induce apprehensions regarding the vaccine among pregnant women.
Confusions and apprehensions surrounding the vaccines have been observed in expectant mothers.
However, the theoretical data is expected to counter the fear and encourage the pregnant women to opt for immunization, as stated by Dr. Emily Miller, a member of the group that conducted the study and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern Medicine.
Significance of the placenta.
A study was published in the Obstetrics and Gynecology journal on 11th of May 2021, that addressed the issue of the impact of vaccination on the placenta.
It is the first organ that is formed after pregnancy is initiated. It supplies oxygen and nutrients to the child in the womb while the vital organs are developing.
It also produces hormones and processes antibodies that are required for the development and protection of the child during and after pregnancy.
Another member of the study group, Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, compares the placenta to the black box to ascertain its importance in pregnancy.
Dr. Jeffery Goldstein is also an assistant professor of pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Any abnormalities in the pregnancy can be assessed by studying the alterations of the placenta.
Deciphering the study.
The analysis was carried out by studying the placenta of 84 immunized women and 11 women who were not immunized.
Any anomaly in the development of blood flow was recorded for covid positive patients.
According to the study, no such anomaly was noted in women who had received immunization and who did not.
According to experts like Goldstein and Miller, the misinformation on the internet may have based on a fear that vaccination may induce an immunological reaction resulting in rejection of the fetus.
However, the findings of the study eliminate any such concern.
The real impact of Covid 19 on pregnancy.
The coronavirus is known to have some impact on pregnancy; those are, risk of premature delivery of the child, preeclampsia, infections leading to deaths.
Deaths caused by covid-19 in pregnant women were higher by 22 times on non-vaccinated women compared to the ones who were vaccinated.
Ramping up the vaccination drive for the expectant mothers and the child was of utmost importance to ensure the safety of both.
Rather the vaccine is going to provide protection from any complications that may arise during pregnancy or delivery, as stated by Beigi.
How the vaccine benefits the baby.
Pregnant women who received vaccination against the coronavirus transmitted the immunity to the child, as found in an earlier analysis carried out by Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Miller in April.
Immunization for the mother early in pregnancy around the 4th month ensured better immunity for the baby against the virus.
Furthermore, babies born to mothers who did not receive the vaccination reported low birth weight and early delivery.
The study published is aimed at encouraging women to opt for the vaccination on the basis of the health benefits it provides for the mother and the child.
