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The WHO just said pregnant people shouldn't get COVID-19 vaccines—but America's OG/GYNs disagree – Motherly Inc.

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This is an incredibly stressful time to be pregnant.

From restrictions on partners attending prenatal appointments, to the loneliness of pregnancy without in-person mom friends, to COVID-19 protocols in the delivery room—there are so many extra challenges facing new mamas.

News this week from the World Health Organization added a new layer of complexity for those navigating pregnancy in a pandemic.

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Conflicting guidance from leading medical organizations

The World Health Organization, which guides global health policy, this week announced its recommendation that most pregnant women should not get the COVID-19 vaccine—yet. It based its recommendation on the lack of existing testing in pregnant populations, and is considered to be a ‘conservative‘ view of what to do, erring on the side of waiting for more information.

Meanwhile, America’s leading medical organizations for OB/GYNs, The American College of OB/GYNS (ACOG), issued a joint the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), reiterating its stance that the evidence they have supports their recommendation that pregnant women should get the vaccine.


“ACOG strongly advocated for the inclusion of pregnant people in the COVID-19 vaccine trials so that we would currently have the data to support the safety and efficacy of the vaccines in this population,” ACOG’s Vice President Dr. Christopher Zahn, MD, told Motherly.Pregnant individuals are often excluded from vaccine and other clinical trials because of ethical issues and concerns for risks to the fetus. However, in recent years, a new wave of medical experts have advocated for a more proactive approach to medical research during pregnancy, especially when the benefits of knowing that a treatment is safe are expected to outweigh the risks to mother and child.

ACOG explains what is known about COVID-19, vaccines and pregnancy

“Even in the absence of this data, pregnant people should know that the way the vaccines work and early evidence from animal studies gives us reason to believe that there should be no harmful effects to the fetus or female reproduction,” Dr Zahn, MD, explains. “Additionally, both the Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna vaccines are not live virus vaccines. They do not enter the nucleus and cannot cause any genetic changes. The safety of these vaccines were demonstrated in the clinical trials with non-pregnant individuals and it is expected that there will be similar results in pregnant individuals.”

Pregnancy raises risks from COVID-19 virus

In a statement on its website this week, ACOG made clear that the virus itself does pose an increased threat to pregnant people: “Data have demonstrated that symptomatic pregnant individuals with COVID-19 are at increased risk of more severe illness and death compared with nonpregnant peers. Many pregnant individuals have medical conditions known to put them at further increased risk of severe illness and complications. Therefore, given clear evidence of the dangers of COVID-19 in pregnancy, an absence of data demonstrating adverse effects associated with the vaccine in pregnancy, and in the interest of patient autonomy, ACOG and SMFM recommend that pregnant individuals be free to make their own informed decisions regarding COVID-19 vaccination.”

Moms and misinformation

The conflicting guidance is particularly problematic because studies show that women, particularly mothers, are more likely to be skeptical of vaccines than men. And with so many mothers being targeted by misinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories, it is more critical than ever that trusted public health organizations give the best guidance available.

That said, one defining feature of any crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, is that expert recommendations evolve when more information is known. We weren’t all wearing masks in March of 2020, but when it became increasingly clear that the virus was spread by respiratory droplets, guidance was updated accordingly. We have to both follow the existing evidence and know that more information will come in.

How to decide what to do

ACOG also recommends that you factor the following components into your decision to vaccinate yourself (or not) during pregnancy: Any underlying conditions, your risk profile of contracting COVID-19 from your family, lifestyle or workplace and the level of outbreak in your community. In short, talk to your doctor or midwife about your particular circumstances to help you make the most informed decision.

Managing your anxiety through COVID-19

Diana Spalding, Motherly’s Health + Wellness Director and a certified nurse-midwife, wants to help women spiraling through the stress of pregnancy in a pandemic.

“First, I want to acknowledge how stressful this situation is—not only are you pregnant during a pandemic, you are trying to make a decision amid conflicting (and changing) recommendations. I believe that the most important thing to remember is that we simply do not have enough information to make generalized statements regarding what pregnant people ‘should’ or ‘should not’ do about this vaccine—that means that you can feel empowered, with the guidance of your provider, to make the decision that works best for you and your specific situation.”

And as more information comes in about COVID-19, vaccines and pregnancy, Motherly will share it.

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RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal

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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.

The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.

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Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.

The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.

Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”

Photo of benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl seized earlier this year by Grande Prairie RCMP after a fatal overdose. edm

From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.

Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.

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CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture

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The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.

Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.

The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.

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Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.

As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.

This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.

Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.

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Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star

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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.

By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.

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