Pregnant women confident Covid-19 vaccine can protect themselves, their babies

Expectant mother Noor Syakila Mothar was extremely worried when she came across stories of complications faced by women who contracted Covid-19 during pregnancy, including giving birth to premature babies.

Therefore, the 35-year-old housewife, who is expected to deliver her baby in September, decided to sign up as a vaccine recipient via the MySejahtera application in order to protect herself and her unborn child from the virus.

“It was sad to read about a Covid-19 patient who begged the doctor to operate on her to save her premature baby. Luckily, both of them are safe.

“(I was told that) Covid-19 can damage one’s body very quickly and can be in stage four or five in just a few days. So, I think that if pregnant women are vaccinated, the possibility of contracting Covid-19 will become smaller,” she told Bernama today.

Another housewife, Najwa Mohd Said, 29, was committed to registering for vaccination even though she is only in week nine of her pregnancy.

“I’m quite paranoid with the current situation and I really hope there will be a suitable vaccine for expectant mothers like me,” she said.

Najwa said vaccination was among the ways to protect herself from the outbreak and would provide some sense of relief if she had to be in public.

Meanwhile, Kedah Health director Dr Mohd Fikri Ujang said pregnant women were at risk of severe complications when infected with Covid-19.

“Getting vaccinated during pregnancy will protect mothers from severe complications due to Covid-19. They can obtain more information from the Health Ministry’s website and from maternity clinics.

“If you have any doubt, please discuss with your doctor,” he said.

Recently, coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin said only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is suitable to be given to women who are in their 14th to 33rd week of pregnancy.

- Bernama