COVID-19 vaccines safe for pregnant women, breastfeeding babies: expert

Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/01/20210101-covid19-new-year-baby-aa-3662-s.jpg"/><figcaption>Michel Ocon looks at her newborn Jahir Hairal who was born at Fabella Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila at exactly 12 midnight on January 1, 2021. <em>ABS-CBN News/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Antibodies in COVID-19 vaccines available in the Philippines will not negatively affect pregnant women and breastfeeding babies, a health official said Friday.</p><p>COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac and Sputnik V &quot;are inactivated vaccines&quot; which care &quot;organisms that are not alive,&quot; said Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, who is part of the technical working group that advises the Department of Health (DOH).</p><p>&quot;If you inject it to the pregnant woman, even if the virus particles make their way to the uterus or into the breastmilk, it will not affect the breastmilk of the breastfeeding infant,&quot; she said in an online forum.</p><p>&quot;Puwede magtuloy ng breastfeeding even if nakapagpabakuna na,&quot; she said.</p><p>(A person who has been inoculated can continue breastfeeding.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/23/21/covid-science-pregnant-women-being-infected-at-higher-rates">COVID SCIENCE: Pregnant women being infected at higher rates</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/15/20/breastfeeding-no-coronavirus-in-mothers-milk-says-world-health-organization">No live coronavirus found in mothers&#x27; milk; breastfeeding still best in time of pandemic</a></li></ul><p>While COVID-19 vaccines are generally safe for expectant mothers, Lim said pregnant women should delay receiving any kind of vaccine until the second trimester of pregnancy.</p><p>&quot;During the first trimester, there is a lot of spontaneous pregnancy loss. Kahit wala kang ginawa, puwedeng hindi matuloy yung pregnancy,&quot; she said.</p><p>(During the first trimester, there is a lot of spontaneous pregnancy loss. Even if you don&#x27;t do anything, you can still lose the pregnancy.)</p><p>&quot;Ayaw lang natin magkaroon ng confusion at mapagbintangan yung bakuna when in fact it was going to happen unfortunately,&quot; she said.</p><p>(We just don&#x27;t want to create confusion with people blaming the vaccine when in fact the miscarriage was going to happen eventually.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/17/21/dubai-allows-breastfeeding-women-to-get-covid-19-vaccine">Dubai allows breastfeeding women to get COVID-19 vaccine</a></li></ul><p>There are &quot;some observations of very limited circumstances where pregnant women were vaccinated and their babies had antibodies,&quot; Lim said, but noted that further studies need to be conducted to verify the claim.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/17/21/covid-19-vaccination-of-pregnant-women-could-protect-babies-israeli-study">COVID-19 vaccination of pregnant women could protect babies: Israeli study</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/10/01/20/why-experts-think-breastmilk-might-help-protect-babies-from-covid-19">Why experts think breastmilk might help protect babies from COVID-19</a></li></ul><p>Several vaccine experts earlier said that the Philippines has yet to link COVID-19 vaccines to serious adverse effects such as death.</p><div><strong> RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1694856" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div> </div>

<p>MANILA - Antibodies in COVID-19 vaccines available in the Philippines will not negatively affect pregnant women and breastfeeding babies, a health official said Friday.</p>

MANILA - Antibodies in COVID-19 vaccines available in the Philippines will not negatively affect pregnant women and breastfeeding babies, a health official said Friday.

COVID-19 vaccines safe for pregnant women, breastfeeding babies: expert | ABS-CBN

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Lifestyle

Sports

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Spotlight

COVID-19 vaccines safe for pregnant women, breastfeeding babies: expert

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 28, 2021 05:48 PM PHT

Read More:

COVID-19

coronavirus

COVID-19 vaccine

mothers

pregnancy

breastfeeding

breastmilk

babies

health

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.