The United Kingdom’s (UK) National Health Service (NHS) is being rigorously criticized for its advisory that says breastfeeding mothers will have to wait until they stop lactating to get Covid vaccine shots.
The advisory has been challenged by women’s rights and breastfeeding organizations for what they believe forces mothers to choose between breastfeeding and getting themselves vaccinated for Covid-19.
Interestingly, NHS’s own website admits that there has been no evidence to support the claim that the Covid-19 vaccine is unsafe for pregnant or breastfeeding women. However, they await more data before starting vaccinating them.
There’s no evidence it’s unsafe if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. But more evidence is needed before you can be offered the vaccine.
The UK government’s website repeats the advice, saying, “it is precautionary until additional evidence is available to support the use of this vaccine in pregnancy and breastfeeding.”
Health experts explain that the authorities are reluctant because no breastfeeding woman has received vaccines during the phase-III trials.
The advisory could leave hundreds of thousands of women in the UK exposed to the novel coronavirus, including some 20,000 frontline workers. About 46% of mothers in England were breastfeeding babies aged 6-8 weeks in 2018/19.
Dr. Vicky Thomas of the Hospital Infant Feeding Network (HIFN) said there is a low risk involved without any evidence that the vaccine is harmful to lactating women.
“Denying women the opportunity to be protected, or alternatively forcing them to lose the health impacts of breastfeeding for themselves and their children is yet another example of the way women have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19.”
Dr. Hannah Barham Brown, the deputy leader of the Women’s Equality Party also criticized the government’s ‘completely irresponsible advisory.
“The vaccine is our best defense against Covid. To insist without any evidence that certain women shouldn’t access it is completely irresponsible, especially as women make up the majority of essential workers in high-risk jobs.
“Unless the regulatory bodies reassess their position, women will face an unacceptable choice between giving up breastfeeding or putting themselves and those around them at risk. What breastfeeding mothers need is the right to make an informed choice.”
Contrary to the UK, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in the United States (US) has said ‘breastfeeding is not a contraindication to receiving a Covid vaccination.’ Whereas the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised lactating women to discuss the risks and benefits of being vaccinated with their healthcare provider before getting one.
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