The vaccine trials initially excluded pregnant women and nursing mothers. But now we are learning about new studies that reveal the effect of Covid vaccines on mothers and their babies.
A study at the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria University Hospital, in Tenerife, the first in Spain to have carried out an investigation of this type, has concluded that nursing mothers who have been vaccinated with Pfizer and Moderna have generated protective antibodies against Covid that transmit through milk to their babies .
The vaccine is “effective and safe”
This study, conducted with a sample of 90 nursing mothers, one pregnant woman and nine unvaccinated mothers, shows that these two vaccines are effective and safe for nursing mothers , as neither of them had any serious adverse reactions.
The mean age of the mothers who participated in the research is 36 years old and they had been breastfeeding for 11 months on average; 21 of them have been breastfeeding their children for more than two years.
The head of Neonatology at the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria University Hospital, Sabina Romero, explains in an interview with Efe that after analyzing the blood and milk of these women, all of them voluntary health workers, it can be concluded that vaccination in nursing mothers is ” effective and safe “.
Study with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines
This research, in which the services of Pediatrics, Laboratory of Clinical Analysis and Microbiology and Obstetrics-Gynecology of the hospital have participated, has not studied the effect of AstraZeneca , the third vaccine that is currently dispensed in Spain against the coronavirus .
However, according to the pediatrician, everything points to the same happening as with Pfizer and Moderna and that nursing mothers vaccinated with AstraZeneca also generate antibodies against Covid-19 in milk and blood.
In principle, the safety basis for infants would be the same, although it should be studied, says Romero, who is seeking funding to expand the study in this regard.
Meanwhile, the study continues with women vaccinated six weeks ago with Pfizer and Moderna , who will be checked again after six months to see if they maintain the same levels of antibodies in their blood and to check if they have been infected with the virus. .
Regarding pregnant women, whose Covid infection could cause more serious problems and therefore are considered a risk group , their vaccination, for the moment, is carried out individually depending on each case.
“Now pandemic, breastfeeding is more important than ever , ” says Romero who encourages women to protect their children, not just the Covid-19, through breastfeeding.
In positive cases, the pediatrician advises women to continue breastfeeding their children, since it has not been proven that there is infection through breast milk and, however, they pass antibodies against the virus to their children, in addition to other bioactive components and defenders.
In Babies and more | Pediatricians recommend maintaining breastfeeding in Covid-19 positive mothers
