CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for all individuals aged 6 months and older. COVID-19 vaccines are safe to get while pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to get pregnant.  Studies involving thousands of women of child-bearing age have found that the COVID-19 vaccines do not cause fertility issues and will not affect anyone’s ability to get or stay pregnant. These studies have also shown that the benefits of vaccination in pregnancy are often passed to the fetus, giving newborns important protection from COVID-19 before they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves. Vaccination during pregnancy reduces the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization in babies under 6 months by about 60%. Unvaccinated people who are pregnant are more likely to develop severe COVID-19, be hospitalized or die from COVID-19. Moderate to severe COVID-19 in pregnancy increases the risk of the following complications:

• Preeclampsia.
• Blood clotting disorders.
• Heavy bleeding right after giving birth.
• Preterm birth (delivering a baby before 37 weeks).
• Low birth weight (delivering a baby weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces or 2.5 kilograms).
• Fetal growth restriction (the fetus isn’t growing at the average growth rate for its age).
• Fetal brain damage or respiratory issues (this is rare).
• Stillbirth (researchers are still determining the exact risk).