Unvaccinated pregnant women at risk of depriving adequate oxygen to unborn babies
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Just 23% of pregnant women are vaccinated against COVID-19. This is according to the latest data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, women who are pregnant, researchers at the Mayo Clinic say, are at risk for more severe illness as a result of infection. This means hospitalizations, admission to the ICU, are put on a breathing machine.
But vaccine hesitancy among expectant mothers doesn’t just leave them unprotected. News 8 spoke with Dr. Cameual Wright, chief medical officer at CareSource, who says when soon-to-be moms get sick, so do the developing little ones.
“If a mom isn’t getting enough oxygen the baby could be deprived of oxygen and perhaps not grow,” Wright said. “Worst case scenario, the baby could potentially die and there have been reports of women who had very serious COVID-19 infections and have lost their babies.”
But if mom is protected, so is the baby. Wright says antibodies developed as a result of the vaccine are passed along through the womb. This is important because babies are not yet eligible for vaccination, thus offering them a layer of protection against COVID-19.
Additionally, Wright points to a study of over 200,000 participants. Scientists assessed pregnant participants and there were no adverse outcomes scientists could trace back to the vaccine. All women in the trial went on to have perfectly normal, healthy babies.