COVID-19. Three questions about immunization for pregnant women

“Pregnant for less than three months, I am not allowed to vaccinate until September. My partner is a restaurateur and I are at the restaurant every day. Will I have to get tested every two days or will there be exemptions?” asks Celine, from Frontunas (Isère).

Like Celine, there are still many (and many) of you asking us about a vaccination pregnant women against the COVID-19. The opportunity to evaluate in three questions, while the Secretary of State for Social and Solidarity Economy and responsible Olivia GregoirePregnant, she will get her second injection in front of the cameras on Tuesday, July 27, to reassure pregnant women about vaccination.

Will it be possible to get vaccinated in the first trimester of pregnancy?

In the National Assembly, Tuesday 20 July, the Minister of Health, Olivier Ferrand, confirmed During a government question-and-answer session That the first trimester of pregnancy was not a contraindication to vaccination, which opened the way for pregnant women under three months of age to receive an injection of the mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna).

Until then, health authorities recommended vaccination only from the second trimester of pregnancy. As recommended by the College of French Obstetricians (CNGOF) The “precautionary principle”.

About 10% of women miscarry in the first trimester of pregnancy, explains Professor Cyril Haysod, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Croix-Rousse Hospital in Lyon, and member of the faculty. We did not want vaccinated women to associate these miscarriages with vaccination.”. “It would not have been possible to create an artificial link on social networks and it would have shamed vaccines”Adds Olivier Bacon, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Louis Maurier Hospital in Columbus (Hauts de Seine), who is also a member of the CNGOF.

The problem: This recommendation has sometimes been a source of confusion, including at vaccination centers. Some concluded that vaccination was forbidden for women in early pregnancy.Sorry, Oliver Bacon.

Read also: certificate. COVID-19: “I am pregnant and my second dose of vaccination was refused”

Several women have written to us in recent weeks to inform us that they have been refused vaccinations at vaccination centers, such as Rennes, during the first trimester of pregnancy. The ambiguity between the recommendation and the contraindication now lifted by the Minister of Health, this situation should not be repeated again.

Thus, women under three months of age, such as Celine, will be able to receive the vaccination without delay.

to me HuffPost Recommendations of the Steering Board of the Vaccination Strategy for Pregnant Women You have to evolve too ” In the coming days “Adhering to the statements of Olivier Veran. In his last opinion on the matter, published April 6 (updated May 7), the board headed by Professor Alan Fisher has advised that pregnant women should be vaccinated from the second trimester.

asked about France Inter On Tuesday, July 27, Alan Fisher now confirms itThey can be vaccinated from the first three months.. “We know that pregnant women need to be vaccinated, and that they are protected from Covid-related incidents that protect their babies.”, he added.

The National College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also reassures: There are no known side effects for pregnant women., regardless of the duration of pregnancy, emphasizes Professor Bacon.

Women were also vaccinated at the beginning of their pregnancy without knowing that they were pregnant. for them , “There is no element of concern yet for the mother and fetus, whatever the vaccine”, Indicates The website of the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM).

Will an unvaccinated pregnant woman be able to give birth in a hospital?

Definitively adopted by Parliament on 25 July, Draft law on health crisis management – which have not yet been ratified by the Constitutional Council – stipulates in its first article that a health permit will be mandatory, “Except in an emergency”, in hospitals for people who are received there for scheduled care, as well as for accompanying people and visitors. Childbirth is an emergency and should not be subject to this rule.

Read also: Dismissal, health permit … what is contained in the final approved anti-Covid bill

The question arises, on the other hand, to consult a gynecologist or midwife. It is essential that pregnancies continue to be managed under the conditions normally required.Estimation of the National College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Research Group on Infection in Pregnancy (GRIG) In a joint press release on July 21.

If he pushes pregnant women to get vaccinated, Cyril Haysod assures us that faculty members will take charge of each one of them, whether or not they have a health permit. “Pregnancy is considered an emergency, because an emergency can happen at any time”, justifies the gynecologist West of France.

While the text of the bill does not provide for any exceptions for now, a government spokesperson Gabriel Atal He promised, on July 19, that “clarifications” will be brought ” In the coming days “ So that pregnant women are not penalized by the implementation of the health permit.

If no stay is planned, they will be able to submit a negative PCR or antigen test result less than 48 hours, or demonstrate recovery from COVID-19 – a positive test dated for at least 15 days and less than 6 months. Either of these two documents will allow access to institutions affected by the health card from the beginning of August, including hospitals, as well as bars and restaurants.

Read also: Health pass: What are the solutions for pregnant women who are not vaccinated?

Teleconsultation has been widely developed during childbirth periods and is also possible at some appointments. in november 2020, Supreme Health Authority HAS also recommended that you alternate pregnancy monitoring Remote and in-office consultations or in the maternity ward. Remote consultations will be possible for early prenatal interview, and consultations for the fourth and the sixth month and Eighth Anesthesia Consultation Month “, specially.

As companions, the spouses should also take care of the obligation to provide a health declaration in health institutions, including during childbirth. What the National College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposes: “They are not caregivers like the others, but they are real representatives of care, says Professor Oliver Bacon. They should be able to be present during childbirth and the puerperium, even without a health permit, and of course provided that the gestures of the barrier are respected as much as possible.”.

“In any case, we will not have the means to control them.”, warns his colleague Cyril Haysod.

What about pregnant women affected by compulsory vaccination?

A pregnant woman who pursues a career related to vaccination will have no choice. They must be vaccinated by October 15, under pain of salary suspension – not dismissal, As initially envisioned.

In a press release dated July 21, CNGOF considered that vaccination cannot be imposed in the first trimester of pregnancy, to avoid “The cause-and-effect relationship is inappropriately consistent between completion of vaccination and spontaneous abortion”. The same reason that led him to recommend vaccination for pregnant women only from the second trimester.

This situation “It may force them to announce their pregnancy too early to their employer”The press release confirmed.

However, the faculty members we contacted do not question this commitment in most cases. The insistence on the necessity of vaccinating pregnant women. “They are at risk from CovidProfessor Haysod confirms. Pregnant women with the virus are more likely to be hospitalized or develop pregnancy-related complications, including when they do not have severe forms, including women who do not have additional risk factors..

“We should be afraid of Covid, not of the vaccine.”His colleague Oliver Bacon concludes.