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Breastfeeding mothers have been urged to take the Covid-19 vaccination as it can protect themselves and their babies from the infection.
American Mission Hospital (AMH) consultant gynaecologist Dr Alka Gupta said antibodies produced in the mothers’ body will pass on to babies through the breast milk.
However, it’s not clear how long the antibodies will be present. Dr Gupta also allayed fears of infertility from vaccination while addressing a virtual platform organised by Women Across (WA), a women’s initiative in Bahrain.
“If lactating mothers take the vaccine, they will produce antibodies which are secreted in the breast milk,” she said.
“Babies in fact will be safer if breastfeeding mothers take the vaccine.”
The talk on Women and Covid was part of WA’s two-month long coronavirus vaccination campaign titled #shotsoonest. It was held in association with the AMH and concluded last week.
Dr Gupta said pregnant women were at higher risk of a severe infection of Covid-19 and of pre-term delivery, if affected. “Pregnant women have lower immunity and are hence prone to infections,” she said.
However, if they have a severe Covid-19 infection, reduced oxygenation or need to be put on a ventilator, the only challenge is that the babies need to be delivered a little early, said Dr Gupta.
“Several Covid-19 vaccines have been approved that are safe for pregnancy – one of them is Pfizer.”
The GDN reported last month that pregnant women and lactating mothers in Bahrain could register for Covid-19 jabs with options of Sinopharm or Pfizer/BioNTech, two of the five approved vaccines in the country.
National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19 monitoring committee head Lt Col Dr Manaf Al Qahtani has taken to social media to call upon pregnant and lactating women to be vaccinated, citing them as “among the most vulnerable groups in light of the rapid spread of the mutated virus”.
In the hour-long interactive session titled Be Aware which was attended by more than 20 people, Dr Gupta allayed fears among young women on Covid-19 vaccination leading to infertility.
She also stressed that women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment can take the vaccination.
AMH general physician Dr Babu Ramachandran spoke to audience on another similar session last month and the zoom sessions were moderated by WA members Anupama Binu and Parvathi Mohandas.
“We are happy that we could successfully conclude the two-month long Covid-19 vaccination campaign in association with American Mission Hospital,” said WA founder partner Sumithra Praveen.
“We initiated this drive in solidarity with Team Bahrain and urge everyone to take the vaccination to protect all, especially the elderly and the vulnerable.”
The campaign included Facebook live sessions titled “Ask the Expert”, featuring AMH Internal Medicine Specialist Dr Edwin Ratnaraj and General and Laparoscopic Surgeon Dr Rama Krishna.
The group also featured seven doctors on videos every Thursday, on the segment titled Doctor’s Take, where they shared their opinion on Covid-19 vaccination.
AMH group chief executive Julia Tovey thanked WA for collaborating with them “in the endeavour to make the kingdom a better and healthier place by spreading educational awareness about being vaccinated against Covid-19.”
raji@gdn.com.bh
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