Why some were vaccine hesitant during pregnancy but finally got their COVID-19 shots
CBC
While research indicates pregnant individuals who have COVID-19 are more likely to be admitted to hospital, the decision to get vaccinated remains a difficult one.
Convincing those who are pregnant to get vaccinated has been "especially challenging," with figures indicating less than two-thirds of them in Ontario have had their shots, said Dr. Jennifer Jocko, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Sudbury's Health Sciences North.
Jocko said that as of last week, three pregnant individuals in Sudbury had COVID-19, but were in stable condition and recovering at home.
"These women are fully vaccinated, so that would then mean that they are a breakthrough case and it's most likely the delta variant causing the infection."
Alison Cornthwaite of Sudbury found out she was pregnant in November 2020 and had her baby girl on July 11. She said she was hesitant to get vaccinated at first because she had read a lot of mixed messages.
"It changed from being the vaccine is not approved for pregnant women to almost overnight, we need pregnant women to get vaccinated," she said.
Cornthwaite said her obstetrician helped her become more comfortable with the decision to get vaccinated.
"She sort of explained how it doesn't interact with the DNA of the baby or of the pregnant mother."
Cornthwaite said she only had mild side-effects from getting vaccinated.
"I do wish that people would take faith in what their doctors say," she said. "Doctors do take an oath to do no harm, and they do have your best interests behind their decision to recommend you to be vaccinated."
Erica Hurteau of Timmins said she had a similar experience.
Also pregnant from November 2020 to July 2021, she hesitated to get the COVID-19 shot at first.
"The messaging wasn't quite clear or straightforward in terms of vaccination and pregnant people in the beginning when vaccines were sort of rolling out."
But Hurteau said she had an "amazing doctor" who helped comfort her and addressed her concerns.