Pregnant women in Bristol have doubts about new COVID-19 vaccines, study reveals

30 June 2021

Pregnant women said taking their routine vaccines like whooping cough and flu was even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic but they have doubts about the safety of taking new COVID-19 vaccines during their pregnancy, new research has found.

The findings from the study, which looked at the impact of the pandemic on attitudes towards vaccines and how pregnant women felt about taking a new COVID-19 vaccine, were presented to the British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology conference today [Wednesday 30 June], by BPS chartered member, Dr Emma Anderson from the University of Bristol.

Dr Anderson, Research Fellow and Health Psychologist in the Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS), said: "Maintaining routine vaccination of pregnant women is vital to protect against epidemics of preventable diseases on top of the pandemic. We also need to be able to protect pregnant women against COVID-19. Women’s attitudes are key."

This work was supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, University of Bristol, Wellcome Trust [ISSF3 grant 204813/Z/16/Z] and the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/T501840/1].

Read the full story on the University of Bristol website.

Further information

Paper

'Maternal vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative interview study with UK pregnant women' by Dr Emma Anderson in Midwifery

Pregnant in a pandemic (Pip) study

Dr Emma Anderson from the University of Bristol presents her team's research into pregnant women's experiences of social distancing behavioural guidelines during the first UK Covid-19 pandemic 'lockdown'. Watch film