A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the vaccination of pregnant women with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was not associated with any increased risks of adverse events for the newborn babies.
The study was carried out "to evaluate the risks of neonatal adverse events after exposure to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy," said the article published on Tuesday.
The study included more than 94,000 infants exposed to COVID vaccine during the mother's pregnancy and more than 103,000 control study infants born between June 2021 and January 2023, the authors reported.
The findings were that "vaccination during pregnancy was associated with lower odds of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage, cerebral ischemia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and neonatal mortality," said the report.
"Meaning, in this large population-based study, vaccination of pregnant individuals with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was not associated with increased risks of neonatal adverse events in their infants," the report continued.
The study broke down the numbers to reveal that out of 196,000+ infants included in the study, there were 94,303 exposed to the COVID-19.
"Exposed infants exhibited no increased odds of adverse neonatal outcomes," said the study
“The report also said that analysis of subgroups found a similar association between vaccination during pregnancy and lower neonatal mortality."
Subgroups were restricted to infants delivered by individuals unvaccinated before pregnancy, individuals vaccinated before pregnancy, individuals vaccinated after a general recommendation of vaccination during pregnancy was issued, and individuals without COVID-19 infection during pregnancy, said the study.
The study was carried out amidst concerns about potential adverse fetal and neonatal effects on infants whose mothers were vaccinated. The study said the concerns resulted in lower vaccination rates among pregnant individuals than in the general population of the same age.
The study also said that vaccination has not been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes or higher admission rates to neonatal care, but information on neonatal outcomes is limited.
The authors wrote that the aim of a large population-based cohort study was to perform a comprehensive assessment of neonatal safety for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines allowing physicians to make better informed decisions.
The study was authored by Mikael Norman, MD, PhD; Maria C. Magnus, PhD; and Jonas Söderling, PhD; Petur B. Juliusson, MD, PhD; Lars Navér, MD, PhD; Anne K. Örtqvist, MD, PhD; Siri Håberg, MD, PhD; and Olof Stephansson, MD, PhD. physicians and scientists associated with the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention, and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; the Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Norway and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen, Norway.
The full text of the JAMA study can be found online here:
