DANVILLE – OB/GYN’s have gone from just offering, to now encouraging pregnant women to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, “We have nine months of solid data, and the short answer is that the vaccine is safe in pregnancy.”
That’s Dr. Brytanie Marshall of Geisinger’s Obstetrics and Gynecology, who also concentrates in pediatrics and adolescent gynecology. She says initial data suggested the vaccine would be safe for pregnant women, and now the governing bodies of OBGYN are fully encouraging it.
Dr. Marshall says the biggest hurdle for expecting mothers deciding to get the shot continues to be misinformation. She says misinformation about infertility or birth control effectiveness and causing harm to the placenta has been debunked.
“That was founded in a misinformation that went out saying the spice protein that the vaccine codes for is very similar to a protein on the placenta. Unfortunately, that’s not even theoretically true. While the protein is similar, the protein does not attack the placenta,” she said.
Dr. Marshall says unborn babies can actually benefit from a vaccinated mother, “Pregnant moms who receive the vaccine, who create their own antibodies, actually are transferred to their babies and babies being born from vaccinated women…we are finding that they also have antibodies against COVID.”
Dr. Marshall says pregnant women are especially susceptible to getting the virus, which could cause breathing problems and other life threatening complications. Hear more of her comments on the WKOK Podcast page. The interview is scheduled for airing on Tuesday.
