Pregnant women at lower risk of 'caesarean' births after Covid vaccination: Study

New Delhi: Pregnant women who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 are at lower risk of having a caesarean section or experiencing hypertension, a new study said on Friday.

Using data from December 2019 to January 2023, the study published in the journal BMJ Global Health evaluated evidence from global studies to determine whether Covid vaccinations were effective for pregnant women who were at higher risk for illness from the virus.

The study found that women who had been fully vaccinated had a 61 per cent drop in the likelihood of getting Covid, and 94 per cent reduced odds of hospital admission.

Moreover, the meta-analysis of 67 studies which included more than 1.8 million women suggested that vaccination leads to a 9 per cent decline in caesarean section risk, a 12 per cent reduction in hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and an 8 per cent drop in the risk of intensive care unit admission for newborn babies born to vaccinated mothers.

"Our findings show how beneficial the vaccination programme against Covid-19 has been for pregnant women. As well as the expected benefits from reduced infections, we have also seen a significant reduction in pregnancy complications including hypertension and caesarean sections," said Professor Shakila Thangaratinam, Dame Hilda Lloyd Chair of Maternal and Perinatal Health at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study.

The research team, however, noted that there have been too few cases and studies relating to adverse impacts such as thrombotic events or Guillan Barre syndrome from Covid-19 vaccination to draw any meaningful results and that cases of several known impacts are very low.