Last updated 3/31/21.

As COVID-19 vaccines are becoming increasingly available, you may have some questions about how the vaccines can affect you and your baby, whether you are pregnant now or considering fertility treatment. What are the risks and what’s best for you?

Whether or not to get the COVID-19 vaccine is a personal choice, but so far officials have determined that the risks of contracting COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill outweigh the risks of the authorized vaccines available today. To help educate the public, government agencies and physician organizations, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), have published guidelines on what they know about the COVID-19 vaccines and how it may or may not affect pregnancy and/or women and couples undergoing fertility treatments.

There are currently three types of vaccines available in the United States ­– The Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson vaccines – all of which will not give a person COVID-19, according to the CDC. These vaccines are considered highly effective in preventing illness and hospitalization. However, it is still unclear whether they are effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19, according to the CDC.

Below is a quick summary of what these agencies and organizations have concluded with the information currently available about the authorized vaccines.

For those currently undergoing or pursuing fertility treatment:

• There is no evidence that shows the COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility for men or women, according to ASRM. Because the vaccines are not live viruses, there is no reason to delay fertility treatment due to vaccination, ASRM says.

• The vaccines are not thought to cause an increased risk of first or second trimester loss, stillbirth, or congenital anomalies, according to ASRM.

• If you have any questions or concerns about your fertility treatment and the vaccines, talk to your physician or fertility specialist.

For those currently pregnant or lactating:

• ASRM recommends that pregnant women should get the COVID-19 vaccines to minimize risks to themselves and their baby.

• Authorized vaccines are unlikely to pose any specific risks to you or your baby, according to the CDC.

• Further studies need to be conducted to conclude the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines for women who are pregnant or lactating. However, the known risks of COVID-19 for pregnant women are far more severe than the theoretical risks to pregnant women from the vaccines, according to ASRM.

• Further studies need to be conducted to conclude whether the COVID-19 vaccines are safe for lactating women or the effects of the vaccine on breastmilk. However, they are not thought to be a risk to infants being breastfed, according to the CDC. In addition, ACOG reported that, for decades, vaccines have been safely administered to pregnant and lactating women.

• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, the CDC recommends discussing your options with your healthcare provider.

• If you are pregnant and have been vaccinated, consider participating in the CDC’s V-Safe Health Checker Program to help the CDC gather information on the different COVID-19 vaccines.