Mother’s trust in doctor led her to get COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant | Local News

After trusting her OB-GYN during two previous pregnancies, a Madison Lake mother knew who to turn to when deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant earlier this year.

Jaci Sprague’s discussion with Dr. Carla Goerish of Mankato Clinic led her to get her first vaccine dose shortly before she and her husband, Daniel, welcomed baby Cora on March 25. Sprague was breastfeeding when she received her second dose weeks later.

The Madison Lake mother of three is happy her doctor helped her make the decision to get vaccinated, saying the vaccine could help both Cora and her fend off the virus.

“It provides me some reassurance and peace of mind knowing that Cora likely has antibodies to fight COVID-19,” she said.

Antibodies developed by mothers after vaccinations can pass through placentas to their babies. Mothers can also pass on antibodies through their breast milk, offering the baby some degree of protection.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed about 31% of pregnant women chose to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as of September. The low percentage comes despite women having higher risks of adverse pregnancies, from preterm births to stillbirths to passing on the virus to their newborns, if they do get COVID-19.

“That’s what we continue to see in young, healthy women who’d otherwise do fine with COVID-19,” Goerish said. “Adding a pregnancy puts them at an increased risk of ending up in the ICU or having a very bad outcome.”

Risks related to the vaccines are minimal in comparison, according to CDC data. Analyses on vaccines during pregnancies found miscarriage rates among vaccinated pregnant women were no higher than the typical range among pregnant women.

The analyses also found no safety concerns for mothers vaccinated late in pregnancy or their babies.

Along with her consultation with her doctor, Sprague’s choice to get vaccinated also came after realizing the pregnancy raised her risk level for her and her baby if they contracted COVID-19.

“What changed throughout that process is I changed from being a low-risk individual if I were to get COVID-19 into that high-risk category,” she said. “So that to me was very eye-opening.”

Goerish was there for Sprague during her pregnancies with Cora’s older sister, Raegan, and older brother, Gordy. The patient-physician relationship grew strong over those experiences, and it’s a trust Sprague hopes other women can find as they weigh similar decisions.

Everyone ultimately has to make their own decision about the vaccine, she said. She feels fortunate she had a trusted doctor in Goerish to help her.

“I’m telling people they should lean on their health care providers,” she said. “And thankfully we have great health care options in our community.”

Goerish has heard from many pregnant patients asking about vaccine safety during the pandemic. Compared to earlier this year when there was less data available, she’s noticed a shift in more pregnant women deciding the risks of COVID-19 aren’t worth not being vaccinated.

Just like the general population, though, there’s a segment of pregnant women who wouldn’t get vaccinated under any circumstances. The response isn’t to be judgemental, Goerish said, but rather to recommend they be safe and practice social distancing to limit their chances of getting COVID-19.

Doing your own research is great, she added, but making sure the information you’re working with is legitimate matters. She recommended the research and recommendations released by the CDC, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, all of which recommend vaccinations before or during pregnancies.

Knowing Sprague and other patients trust her to help them make vaccination decisions feels fabulous after a hard 18 months for everyone in health care, Goerish said.

“We just want people to be healthy and want people to be safe,” she said. “We also want what everyone else wants. We’d never purposely do something that would harm them or their baby.”