Vaccinated pregnant mothers pass antibodies to babies, research shows

Early research shows that vaccinated pregnant mothers pass on Covid-19 antibodies to their children via breastmilk and in utero.

Numerous preliminary studies show that pregnant women who got an mRNA vaccine, such as those from Pfizer or Moderna, had Covid-19 antibodies in their umbilical cord blood.

Another study found antibodies in breastmilk, meaning that some immunity could be transferred to children during pregnancy and after birth.

The vice-chair for obstetrics and quality at Duke University Brenna Hughes told The Washington Post that some not yet peer-reviewed papers are “the first to show what we had hoped would be true, which is that these vaccines could be potentially protective through antibodies passed on to the fetus”.

She added that “worries about possible risk and harm may be proven quite the opposite. In fact, it may be proven that the vaccines actually provide protection to the developing fetus”.

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A South Florida healthcare worker was vaccinated three weeks before giving birth to a girl with Covid-19 antibodies, CBS News reported.

Dr Paul Giblert and Dr Chad Rudnick wrote in a preprint study that “antibodies are detectable in a newborn’s cord blood sample after only a single dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Thus, there is potential for protection and infection risk reduction from Sars-CoV-2 with maternal vaccination”.

Researchers have previously shown that pregnant women who recover from the disease can pass on their natural immunity to their children.

One preprint, not yet peer-reviewed study examined 131 vaccinated women, 84 of whom were pregnant. The study showed that pregnant women had similar immune responses, and thus probably will get as much protection from the vaccine, as women who are not pregnant.