BREAKING STUDY: COVID-19 Vaccination During Early Pregnancy Linked to Major Birth Defects

Babies born to mothers vaccinated during the first trimester suffered higher rates of atrioventricular septal defects (holes in the heart) and cleft palate.

by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

A newly published registry-based cohort study has reported higher rates of certain congenital anomalies among babies born to mothers who received a COVID-19 vaccine during the first trimester of pregnancy.

They analyzed 1,352 pregnancies and compared women vaccinated during the critical organogenesis period (conception through 11 weeks and 6 days) with women who were either unvaccinated or vaccinated later in pregnancy.

The study found that atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD)—a serious congenital heart defect involving holes between the heart’s chambers—were observed in 2.3% of babies whose mothers were vaccinated during the first trimester, compared with 0% among babies of unvaccinated mothers.

They also found cleft palate in 0.8% of babies exposed during the first trimester, compared with 0% among babies of unvaccinated mothers.

The vaccines used in this study consisted of inactivated whole-virus and viral-vector platforms. Had the mRNA platform been analyzed here, we probably would have seen even worse birth defect rates.

These findings arrive as major public health organizations—including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), the World Health Organization (WHO), and many national health agencies—continue to recommend COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

These organizations must be held accountable for their reckless actions that have resulted in grave harm to unborn children.

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Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation

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