The COVID-19 vaccination is out and being distributed throughout the United States. While there are many mixed feelings and thoughts about the vaccine, this post shares my personal experience with the vaccine. I will update this post with any new experiences I have.
One of the biggest concerns I had with getting the vaccine is that I am currently breastfeeding my almost six-month-old daughter. I consulted with my daughter’s Pediatrician, who told me there was no data specific to effects on pregnant or nursing women since there were none in the trials.
February 6th, 2021
I received my first dose of the vaccine at around 11:30am on Saturday. Before I received the shot, my temperature was scanned (97.3). I also filled out a health questionnaire, feeling ill, pregnant or breastfeeding, etc. Mostly the same questions you get before getting a flu shot. I got to sit down with a doctor beforehand and ask her any questions about the vaccine. She told me symptoms I can expect after administration.
I was given the vaccine in my left arm (which is not my dominant arm) and was asked to sit for observation for fifteen minutes after administration. This is not something they do everywhere and was just an extra precaution in place. Initially, the shot felt like any other shot. The needle was thin, and I could barely feel the prick on my skin. After I left for the day, I did a little cardio workout and tried to stay hydrated. It was around 5:00pm. I could really start to feel the soreness in my arm set in. The feeling was similar to maybe getting hit in the arm, but the soreness does not go away quickly.
When it came to breastfeeding, I breastfed my baby as usual. I ended up pumping right before I got the shot so I wouldn’t need to feed or pump right after getting the vaccine. The first time I breastfed the baby was around six hours after the vaccine. Her father bottle feds her breastmilk that I pump once in a while. As far as I could tell, the baby still received a sufficient amount of milk, and nothing changed with the taste (as far as I can tell).
As I said before, I asked my daughters pediatrician about the vaccine. The pediatrician recommended that I received the vaccine. Doing some research online I found the following:
- You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine or give your baby COVID by getting the vaccine
- It is unlikely that mRNA vaccine particles will get into breastmilk. If they did, they would be digested. If it was possible to be affected by digesting the particles the vaccine would be administered orally.
- It is possible that antibodies and T-cells can be passed through the breastmilk to the baby.
To learn more about how the mRNA vaccine works I found this article on WHO very helpful.
The Day After My First Vaccine
The next day is when I felt the majority of the side effects. I strongly recommend that you do not get the vaccine the day before any significant events, tests, or interviews. If you can, I would suggest just taking the next day off from work. I woke up, and my arm was extremely stiff and sore. I was still able to take care of the baby, but it was painful. There was one point I had to put my hair back up in a ponytail, and it was challenging to move my arm over my head to do this. It was almost like a charlie horse in my arm. Another friend (who got his shot at the same time) said he could not raise his arm over his head. Fatigue was another symptom I noticed. I ended up taking a nap around 3:00pm with the baby after taking some Tylenol. When I woke up, my arm felt almost normal, I could move my arm without pain, and my fatigue was gone.
This whole day I breastfed my daughter. I felt like there was a slight decline in milk production, but I cannot say for sure since I didn’t pump the whole day. I didn’t need to supplement with any frozen milk bags from the freezer, and she seemed full all day still. I looked out for dark urine and making sure her diapers were sufficiently wet to make sure she was getting enough milk. You can also manually express a little milk to make sure you have milk available.
Thank you for reading and I hope it was helpful! Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.
Sources
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/wondering-about-covid-19-vaccines-if-youre-pregnant-or-breastfeeding-2021010721722
https://www.bfmed.org/abm-statement-considerations-for-covid-19-vaccination-in-lactation
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