CDC Recommendations for Covid-19 Vaccines While Pregnant or Breastfeeding:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html#print

Coronavirus FIRM Fertility Care Information

F.I.R.M. continues to provide comprehensive infertility care, including intrauterine inseminations, IVF, or cryo IVF transfers. F.I.R.M. believes couples need to make their own treatment decisions.

• If you are feeling sick or have been in a high risk environment (people or place) – DON’T come to the office; cancel your appointment
• If you have started your IVF cycle and are cancelled because of illness, F.I.R.M. will duplicate your care at no charge. We will work with the pharmaceutical companies to try and get medications replaced but cannot guarantee this.
• F.I.R.M. maintains the strictest sanitary conditions at all of our offices and labs.  
• When coming to the office for treatment, please come alone unless your partner is required to give a specimen. In the waiting area, please keep a social distance of at least six feet.
• We will continue to update you on our website and Facebook page. We encourage you to check these once a week.

F.I.R.M. is following recommendations from the ASRM COVID-19 Task Force regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. At this time, guidance only pertains to the Pfizer vaccine and we will update guidance as the recommendations change. Following is a summary of ASRM’s latest recommendations regarding vaccination, preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding.

• The ASRM Task Force does not recommend withholding the vaccine from patients who are planning to conceive, who are currently pregnant, or who are lactating.
• Patients undergoing fertility treatment and pregnant patients should be encouraged to receive vaccination based on eligibility criteria.
• Because COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are not composed of live virus, they are not thought to cause an increased risk of infertility, first or second trimester loss, stillbirth, or congenital anomalies.
• While COVID-19 vaccination can cause fever in some patients (up to 16% of those vaccinated and mostly after the second dose), this risk should not be a concern when deciding whether to vaccinate a pregnant individual or a patient desiring pregnancy.
• Patients who conceive in the window between the first and second dose of the vaccine should be offered the second dose of the vaccine at the appropriate interval.

Information on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy

Currently there is no definitive data on the impact of the COVID-19 virus on fertility, pregnancy, childbirth or the transmission of the disease to newborns. We simply do not know and cannot verify that there is no impact or any specific impact on pregnancy, fetuses, or neonates.

• There is currently no scientific evidence showing that COVID-19 is transmitted to or carried by oocytes (eggs) or sperm.
• There is very little research on a pregnant woman’s susceptibility to catching COVID-19. This means that no one can be certain if pregnant women are more likely to contract COVID-19 compared to a non-pregnant adult. In past pandemics, pregnant women were found to be at greater risk for infectious processes (due to the physiologic and immunologic changes of pregnancy) which may pose risks including birth defects, miscarriage, stillbirth, and preterm birth. The major risk associated with COVID-19 infection is respiratory distress in the form of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and possible death. There is emerging data regarding increased risk of thrombosis including stroke in COVID-19 patients and the impact on pregnancy is unknown.
• There is little research (and no verified data) on pregnancy and COVID-19 on women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. There is very limited information on how COVID-19 affects women and unborn children in the first trimester of pregnancy. Further, there may not be any significant data on pregnancy and COVID-19 soon as all information takes time to collect and evaluate. There is no current approved treatment (medication) for COVID-19, and if a pregnant woman gets COVID-19, the current medication used to provide compassionate care to patients afflicted with COVID-19 is contraindicated for use in pregnancy.
• There is very little information on the transmission of COVID-19 to fetuses. The small amount of data reported out of Wuhan, China and New York does not show any definitive evidence of intrauterine fetal infections with COVID-19; therefore, it is believed that the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to a fetus in utero is low or non-existent. Reported cases (3) of infected newborns have fortunately had good recoveries, although how they were infected is still not clear. However, an infected mother can transmit the virus to her infant after birth through respiratory droplets. While breastfeeding is still possible, masks and hand hygiene are essential. Some hospitals are restricting partners at deliveries, and (except for breastfeeding) physical distancing between mothers and newborns is advocated in some areas. Even greater restrictions may apply if the mother becomes infected.