The effect of COVID-19 vaccination on fetal outcomes: a review Study
The effect of COVID-19 vaccination on fetal outcomes: a review Study
Iman Masoumi,1,*Mobina Hosein Fakhrabadi,2Rounak Shahoyi,3
1. Student Research Committee, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnourd, Iran 2. Student Research Committee, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran 3. Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
Introduction: Pregnant people are at higher risk of severe disease compared with non-pregnant women in reproductive years, due to physiological changes in their cardiopulmonary and immunological system functions. Vaccines have been developed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Although they are considered the best approach for preventing mortality, there are many arguments for the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women and their babies. The aim of this study is to review the effect of COVID-19 vaccine on fetal outcomes.
Methods: In this review, English studies available in PubMed, Google scholar, Science Direct and Springer databases using the keywords coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccine, vaccination, pregnancy, fetus and infant from 2022-2020 were reviewed and finally according to inclusion criteria 24 articles were selected.
Results: Study results showed that there was no increased risk in adverse pregnancy outcomes including miscarriage, preterm birth, small for gestational age, and neonatal death after vaccination when compared with data before the COVID-19 pandemic. several studies demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with higher incidence of congenital malformation compared with historical rates. There was no significant difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in terms of mode of delivery, gestational age, Apgar scores, and the incidence of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes including eclampsia/ preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, thromboembolism, birth trauma, uterine rupture, stillbirth, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, low birth weight, and neonatal intensive care admission. After SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in a pregnant woman, trans placental transmission of antibodies against the spike protein occur. Efficient trans placental transfer of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies was also shown in the majority of seropositive pregnant women after natural infection. The presence of neutralizing antibodies in the fetal/neonatal circulation is potentially an added benefit of vaccination for the protection of the baby, in both fetal and neonatal life, against COVID-19.
Conclusion: These data support the safety of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy; so the midwives and nurses should provide counseling to pregnant women to increase their knowledge and correct misconceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccine.