Breastfeeding, pregnancy and Covid-19 vaccine

Dr Wanyonyi, Obstetrician Gynaecologist and Foetal Medicine Specialist at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, explains that initial Covid-19 trials excluded pregnant women, so there is limited data on any potential side effects of the vaccine during pregnancy. More information will be available in the future as experience grows. The benefit of the vaccine in reducing the risk of Covid-19 is well established. The vaccine also reduces the severity of infection, hospitalisation and death from Covid-19. As the vaccines were not tested on breastfeeding mothers, it is not possible to say with 100 percent certainty that the vaccine is safe. However, what is known is that the ingredients used to make the vaccines are not harmful to either women or their babies.