Study – Vaccinated pregnant women pass high level of antibodies to their babies

Pregnant women, who get mRNA vaccines, pass high levels of antibodies to their babies, according to an American scientific research.

According to the study, made by researchers at the NYU Langone Health System, 36 newborns tested at birth all had antibodies to protect against Covid-19, after their mothers were vaccinated with shots from Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE or Moderna Inc.

As Dr. Ashley Roman stated “Right now we’re recommending all pregnant women receive the vaccine for maternal benefit.”

All 36 babies were found to have significant levels of IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus protein. All antibodies were associated with their mothers being vaccinated 6 to 25 weeks before delivery.

It is not clear, yet, whether and to what extent the time of vaccination during pregnancy is related to subsequent levels of antibodies in the newborn, i.e. whether it is more beneficial if the mother has been vaccinated in the second half of her pregnancy or earlier. Nor is it known how long these antibodies persist in the baby.

However, according to A. Roman, “the presence of these antibodies in the cord blood, which is the blood of the fetus, shows that the baby has the ability to benefit from the vaccination of their mother”, especially because babies, after birth, they may come into contact with unvaccinated family members or unvaccinated health professionals.

The researchers pointed out that “our findings add to a growing list of important reasons why we advise women to get the Covid-19 vaccine during their pregnancy.”