COVID Vaccine Does Not Raise Risk for Congenital Anomalies

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for complications and miscarriage. That is why vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended for pregnant women. Initial data have not shown an increase in the risk for complications related to the vaccine.

A new study of the risk for congenital anomalies after vaccination during pregnancy has just been published. Conducted using data from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, it includes nearly 350,000 children conceived between March 2020 and February 2022. The study aimed to assess the risk for congenital anomalies that was related to infection or vaccination during the first trimester of pregnancy. The analysis was restricted to vaccinations using mRNA vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech’s BNT162b2, and Moderna’s mRNA1273.

Of the entire cohort, 5.2% of children had a major congenital anomaly in the 9 months following birth (516 per 10,000 live births). During the first trimester of their pregnancy, 3% of women had an infection with SARS-CoV-2. There is no identified risk for major congenital anomaly after this infection (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.96; 95% CI, 0.87-1.05).

Likewise, of the more than 150,000 children exposed to the vaccine during pregnancy, of whom 20% were exposed during the first trimester, there seemed to be no increase in the risk for major congenital anomalies associated with this vaccination (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.97-1.09). The results remained unchanged when the investigators included neonatal deaths or miscarriages.

These data are consistent with those of previous studies and confirm the safety of using the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2, which is a source of pregnancy complications. 

This story was translated from JIM, which is part of the Medscape Professional Network, using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.