Audrey Cadoret is surprised by the deafening silence of the health authorities concerning pregnant women. This 33-year-old young woman, who is entering her fourth month of pregnancy, did not really appreciate that Emmanuel Macron opposes vaccinated and unvaccinated Monday and imposes the health pass on everyone … forgetting those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
“You have to customize according to specific cases”
It is indeed advisable in France to wait until the second trimester of pregnancy to be vaccinated with messenger RNA. Audrey considers herself happy: she has just entered her fourth month and has brought forward the date of her first injection by a week. But she will have to wait until mid-August to get her vaccination pass. So soon, it’s complicated to go to a restaurant, to the cinema or to do your shopping without this sesame. “Will pregnant women have to undergo infinite PCR testing for the first three months?” She annoys. So what about standing in line in crowded screening centers with people who are sometimes symptomatic? “I am also thinking of the caregivers who must be fully vaccinated on September 15 or else they will lose their jobs… I am amazed that no one has brought up the subject! I have followed the government’s recommendations to the letter, but you have to customize according to specific cases. “
Exceptions precisely, Roxanne knows. “I learned that I was pregnant the day before my initial appointment for the vaccine,” explains the young woman, who is two months pregnant. I wait patiently for the end of the month to be able to do the first dose, but it’s super frustrating! My mom can’t get the vaccine either. She developed an allergy to painkillers a few years ago, so the vaccine is quite risky for her. “
No exception for the moment
“There have been flexibilities for adolescents and employees of places open to the public [le passe sanitaire ne s’appliquera qu’à partir du 30 août], continues Audrey. Why not for pregnant women? It is unfair. »Could a document revealing the date of the onset of pregnancy then exempt them from health pass for the first three months? Contacted by 20 minutes, the
Ministry of Health and the
Directorate General of Health had not responded to our requests.
“For women who are in the first trimester of pregnancy, there will have to be adaptations, recognizes Joëlle Belaish Allart, president of the National College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of France (CNGOF). For all others, you must be vaccinated as soon as you have had the 12-week ultrasound. Covid-19 can be serious for pregnant women. “
Vaccination recommended from the 4th month of pregnancy
Still, for many of them, doubts and vagueness persist about pregnancy and vaccination. “In other countries, the vaccine is possible from the start of pregnancy,” says Joëlle Belaish Allart, head of the gyneco-obstetrics department at Saint-Cloud hospital (Hauts-de-Seine). We interviewed Prof. Alain Fisher, who replied that there was no risk of getting vaccinated from the start of pregnancy. But for the moment, we are following the recommendations of the DGS: as a precaution, it is from the fourth month that the vaccine is possible and even recommended. “
Same timing for the reference site, the Reference Center on Teratogenic Agents (Crat), who advises to “start the protocol between 10 and 20 weeks of amenorrhea [absence de règle], that is to say after the end of organogenesis and sufficiently early for the pregnant woman to be protected in the third trimester ”. A recommendation that not all doctors pass on to their patients. ” My daughter has just given birth and her pediatrician advised her not to be vaccinated while she is breastfeeding, regrets the gynecologist. It’s complicated to convince her… ”But she insists:“ there is no consequence of the vaccine on pregnancy or breastfeeding ”. Indeed,
the Crat reveals that “Among approximately 4,000 women vaccinated while breastfeeding, no particular event was identified in their children. “. Messenger RNA is not found in milk and children cannot be infected.
What about women who want a child? The president of the CNGOF advises them to get vaccinated before trying. “An Inserm publication explains that the vaccine has no effect on fertility. “Moreover, the
Crat specifies that “there is no time limit between a vaccination with an mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 and the start of a pregnancy”.
What about women in assisted reproduction?
Some women in the course of medically assisted procreation (MAP) have for their part postponed the injections. To avoid “wasting” a month or more before hormonal stimulation while the clock is ticking. But since Monday, it’s panic. Joëlle Belaish Allart, who heads a center for medically assisted procreation, confirms: “The secretariat has not stopped ringing, because they are wondering: should we be vaccinated? They are strongly advised to be vaccinated before a next test. Today, there are only 21 days between the two doses, the AMP centers close in August, so now is the time to go! “
What if we are in the middle of in vitro fertilization (IVF)? “If you have an embryo transfer scheduled in a week, you can do the first dose now. If the trial does not work, you can do the second dose quickly, and if it is successful, you can do the second dose after the first trimester. »Without losing efficiency? The Academy of Medicine had pronounced in April for a six-month interval to speed up the vaccination campaign, specifying that neutralizing antibodies can last for at least six months.