Key Takeaways
- A new study shows receiving a COVID-19 vaccine early in pregnancy does not increase the risk of a baby being born with birth defects.
- COVID is still circulating and both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the vaccine for pregnant people.
- COVID vaccines protect not only the birthing parent, but also their baby.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic may no longer be at the top of mind for most people, the virus is still circulating. There are still some people who can get very sick with COVID, and this includes pregnant individuals.
As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) notes, pregnant people are more likely to require ICU care, ventilator support, and are even more likely to die of COVID. That’s why both the ACOG and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that pregnant people get a COVID vaccine or booster during pregnancy.
Yet many pregnant people are hesitant, often because they think it may harm their unborn baby. A new study published in Pediatrics should put some of those fears to rest.
This study looked at COVID vaccination during early pregnancy and found that it didn’t cause any increase in birth defects in the babies of people who took the vaccine.
We connected with the study researchers to learn more about it, as well as several doctors who explained why COVID vaccines are something to strongly consider if you are pregnant.
COVID Vaccines and Early Pregnancy
This study, published on March 14, 2025, in Pediatrics, looked at 78,052 pregnant individuals. In particular, the study researchers looked at COVID vaccine uptake during the first 20 weeks of gestation.
What did they find?
“Results showed that COVID-19 vaccines given early in pregnancy do not increase the risk of having a baby born with major structural birth defects,” explains Stacey Rowe, PhD, infectious diseases epidemiologist from the University of San Francisco and lead author of this study.
The “early pregnancy” piece of the study is important, Dr. Rowe notes, because while other studies have shown COVID vaccines to be safe during pregnancy, “there was limited evidence on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines given early in pregnancy (prior to 20 weeks of gestation),” she says. Earlier studies tended to focus on the second and third trimesters.
Additionally, as Dr. Rowe shares, this study found the COVID vaccines didn’t increase your risk of having a baby with a major structural birth defect if you contracted COVID in early pregnancy or if you received other vaccines in pregnancy, such as a Tdap or flu vaccine. Finally, these results were the same no matter which vaccine brand was given—for example, whether the pregnant individual was vaccinated with a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
“For parents, this research shows that getting COVID-19 vaccine early in pregnancy is safe for the baby,” Dr. Rowe concludes.
The Risks of COVID-19 Infections During Pregnancy
To understand why COVID vaccines are important for pregnant people, it’s vital to consider the negative impacts of having COVID during pregnancy, especially if you haven’t been recently vaccinated or boosted.
During pregnancy, your immune system is different than it is when you aren’t pregnant.
“Pregnancy creates a very unique environment for the immune system,” says Molly O’Shea, MD, a pediatrician at Birmingham Pediatrics + Wellness Center and residency instructor at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “Because a mother’s body needs to accommodate something foreign, a growing baby, the immune system is less tuned in to other foreign things like infections.”
These changes make you more vulnerable to any infections, including COVID. As Anushka Chelliah, MD, a board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Pediatrix Medical Group in Houston, Texas explains, in particular, “COVID-19 infection can be associated with significant maternal and fetal risks during pregnancy, which can be associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.”
For pregnant people, COVID infections are associated with severe illness, a high risk of hospitalization, ICU admission, respiratory complications, blood clots and an elevated risk of preeclampsia, Dr. Chelliah says.
“From a fetal and neonatal perspective, there is a higher risk of placental insufficiency resulting in growth restriction, stillbirth, risk of preterm birth and neonatal infection,” she adds.
Why Doctors Recommend COVID-19 Vaccines During Pregnancy
The risks to pregnant people and their fetuses of a COVID infection during pregnancy are the primary reasons why organizations like the ACOG and CDC still recommend staying up to date on your COVID vaccines during pregnancy.
“Vaccination helps protect both the pregnant person and their baby from severe illness and complications and reduces hospital admission, maternal and neonatal complications and potential long-term health impacts of COVID-19,” says Dr. Chelliah.
But that’s not the only reason. Getting a COVID vaccine during pregnancy can also protect your baby from COVID in the months after they are born.
“The vaccine also helps generate immune response/antibodies that transfer to the baby, providing protection against COVID-19 during the early months of life,” explains Eran Bornstein, MD, the vice chair of OB/GYN at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital.
As Justin Moore, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Akron Children’s shares, this immunity can last for several months.
“Babies born from parents who received COVID vaccination are less likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 and less likely to have symptoms for up to six months of age,” Dr. Moore notes.
Six months is also when the CDC recommends babies receive COVID vaccines, so a vaccine during pregnancy can protect your baby in the months when they are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
Should You Get a COVID Vaccine During Pregnancy?
Experts recommend you get a COVID vaccine or booster during pregnancy regardless of whether you’ve had COVID recently or been vaccinated in the past. That’s because immunity from infections or vaccines wanes over time.
“Natural immunity from a past infection may not be as robust or long-lasting, and new variants of the virus rise,” explains Dr. Bornstein. “Therefore, a booster dose is important to protect the patient by enhancing and prolonging the immunity.”
Additionally, because your immune system is lowered during pregnancy, past immunity doesn’t have the same effect as if you weren’t pregnant.
“Because the immune system is modified during pregnancy to ignore foreign things to some extent, ensuring that the immune fighting cells are familiar with the most common circulating strains of COVID vaccine is essential to minimize risk,” Dr. O’Shea says.
Of course, whether or not to take the vaccine is a personal choice, and one that you should discuss with your doctor. These days, many people are hesitant to continue to get COVID vaccines and boosters. Pregnant people in particular may feel anxious about COVID vaccines, or vaccines in general.
“It’s no surprise that pregnant people would want more information before choosing to vaccinate during pregnancy,” says Dr. O’Shea. “Everyone’s goal is to have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy, full-term baby.”
But as she notes, the COVID vaccine is well studied and is a good way to help achieve a healthy pregnancy.
The Bottom Line
Although it’s been known for some time that COVID vaccines were safe in pregnancy, this new study underscores this, with special emphasis on its safety in early pregnancy.
“The recent study is yet another important body of evidence to provide reassurance that COVID vaccine in early pregnancy was not associated with increased prevalence of birth defects in infants,” Dr. Bornstein describes.
Your health care provider can answer any other questions you may have about receiving the COVID vaccine during pregnancy.
