- Sara Feretic, a 35-year-old mom-to-be from Long Island, New York, is expecting a baby in October.
- She got vaccinated prior to the CDC's recommendation.
- Here's her story, as told to Heather Marcoux.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
When my fertility specialist helped me get pregnant at the end of January, I was overjoyed. But being pregnant during a pandemic has been stressful, mostly because the information about the vaccine has been evolving rapidly.
One of the first things I did was ask my fertility specialist about getting the COVID vaccine because, as a teacher, I was eligible. My fertility specialist initially said: "Don't do it. There's not enough information out there."
So I waited, and while I waited, I read. I was genuinely scared at first. I was afraid of a miscarriage.
But I came across some research in the New England Journal of Medicine. While the sample size wasn't huge, the research suggested that there were no obvious issues with the vaccine for pregnant women.
I decided that, as a mom, I had to decide what was the greater risk for my unborn child: catching COVID-19, which can cause damage to the placenta, or getting vaccinated, which doesn't.
This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said pregnant people should get vaccinated, but back in the spring when I was having these discussions with my care providers, the guidance wasn't as clear.
My midwives said they couldn't tell me whether to do it or not. The choice was mine. I decided to take the information that I had, which was based on science, and get vaccinated to protect my baby, myself, and my students. While we were mandated to wear masks last year in school, I don't know what September's going to bring.
Eventually, after weighing many pros and cons, my sister (who was also pregnant at the time) and I decided to get vaccinated together. I showed my sister the information that I'd found. I was 15 weeks pregnant when I got my first Pfizer shot and 18 weeks along when I got the second one.
At the end of July, during an appointment with my midwife, she said: "I really want to talk to you about the vaccine. We really are recommending that you get it." I replied, "Been there, done that." I was able to tell her that I'd already made that choice on my own.
It felt good that my healthcare providers and I were on the same page. (Editor's note: At the end of July, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine advised healthcare providers to recommend vaccination to pregnant people.)
My midwife then told me about other moms-to-be who had been placed on oxygen. She added, "It's some scary stuff that's taking place among the unvaccinated."
My sister's baby is already here, and I'm now 30 weeks pregnant.
Reading the research in the New England Journal of Medicine really helped me because the study I read found that the number of unvaccinated people who had miscarriages was the same as the number of vaccinated people who had miscarriages, so I felt confident that getting the shot would not put me at an increased risk of losing my baby.
As a mom, or a soon-to-be mom, these decisions can be scary and intimidating because you don't know if you're making the right decision. But thankfully, the evidence has gotten clearer. I feel like it's a no-brainer.