Why Clinics, Staff and Doctors Want Their Surrogacy Patients to Be Vaccinated
What a controversial issue, the Covid Vaccines, and their booster shots! There are quite a few opinions based on fear rather than facts. This article is meant to help you understand why it is important to take the vaccine and boosters seriously especially if you are considering surrogacy as the means to grow a family.
· Medical appointments- many medical appointments are involved with surrogacy and IVF procedures. These have to be done in person and therefore expose IVF clinical staff and other patients to potential Covid-19 infections. The more people who are vaccinated better. This doesn’t mean that you won’t spread it or never contract Covid but it does mean less risk of being hospitalized with this illness.
· Contracting Covid at any point before IVF procedure can mean significant delays and even the possibility of losing thawed embryos if the infection is that close to the actual transfer.
· Contracting Covid during pregnancy while unvaccinated can be a real concern as the possibility of being hospitalized and being intubated while pregnant puts both carrier and baby at risk. This risk can be significantly reduced with the vaccine and booster shots offered.
· Being in the labor and delivery areas of any hospital while unvaccinated ups the chance of either spreading or contracting Covid-19. It also makes any staff have to use even more precautions due to a patient’s unvaccinated state.
· If you are pumping milk for the baby the antibodies can be shared via the breast milk if you are vaccinated. Here is an article on a recent study: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/new-study-finds-evidence-of-covid-antibodies-in-breast-milk-of-vaccinated-mothers
Making these decisions, to work with or as a surrogate during a pandemic, is hard enough but deciding who to believe regarding vaccines and how it will affect the health of a pregnancy is an important question. Talk with a doctor you trust. Research the data and ask questions of your clinic and agency. Ultimately you need to do what’s best for you and your family. Surrogacy might not be the right path at this moment in time. Only you can decide!