18 Mar 2021 Baby Born with Coronavirus Antibodies Passed from Vaccinated Mom
On the roller coaster ride that is the good news/bad news of the COVID-19 pandemic on any given day, this high point came in the news today: The birth of the first baby in the world known to be born with coronavirus antibodies transmitted from her mother’s COVID-19 vaccination.
The baby’s mother is a Florida front-line health care worker who received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at 36 weeks pregnant, according to a report by West Palm Beach radio station WPBF 25. Three weeks later she gave birth to a healthy, full-term baby girl. Blood tests revealed the baby was born with coronavirus antibodies, which also were present in the umbilical cord, indicating the antibodies were passed from mother to child.
As we wrote late last year, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), in line with other medical associations, has recommended that pregnant women, women planning to conceive and breastfeeding mothers should receive the COVID-19 vaccine, in accordance with the advice of their personal physicians.
As we wrote in December 2020, “Recent studies have suggested that women who are pregnant are at higher risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 disease, even more so for patients with conditions such as obesity, hypertension or diabetes. This heightened risk of severe illness should be a consideration in weighing the protective benefits of vaccination.” Although the vaccines currently in use were not tested on pregnant women during clinical trials, the consensus of the medical community is that the risk of taking the vaccine is much less than the risk of contracting COVID-19. Of course, every woman should make the decision whether to get vaccinated in consultation with her physician or healthcare provider.
Now, researchers at Florida Atlanta University have found the vaccine’s protection may be passed from mother to child, according to Business Insider:
While past reports have shown how moms who've had COVID-19 can deliver babies with antibodies, the authors believe theirs is the first to record how vaccines during pregnancy may do the same.
Questions remain. Researchers still don’t know how long protection from antibodies transmitted to a child during pregnancy will last nor how many antibodies must be present for continued protection. But as one researcher told WPBF, “This is one small case in what will be thousands and thousands of babies born to mothers who have been vaccinated over the next several months.”
A ray of hope for a brighter future for all of us. For more information about the impact of COVID-19 on your plans for parenthood, please visit our library of videos, webinars and articles on IVF, egg and sperm donation and surrogacy during the pandemic.
Disclaimer: IFLG is not a medical provider, and all individuals are urged to consult with their personal physicians when making decisions about vaccination or any other medical issues.
