help me be rational - pregnant and not vaccinated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a lawyer have a healthy three year old and am 35. I am currently 18 weeks pregnant and not yet vaccinated and I cannot get over my irrational fear of the vaccine.


I work from home, kid stays at home, no family or friends near, and a small town with 2 cases in the last month and in a state with over 60% vaccinated.
I am self isolating still and only outings are hikes and empty playground and yard and maybe a curbside pickup for food. But I am miserable and lonely and I want my kiddo and husband to go out in the world after a year plus of this.

I am afraid of two things: if I get the vaccine, am I 100% guaranteed it won’t affect the baby (like cause a stroke or cleft lip or no arm or neurological issue anything)? if I get the vaccine, am I 100% guaranteed my baby later in life won’t have any issues?

I don’t know why I can’t be rational about this - the only way the two questions above are 100% is if I don’t get the vaccine. But delta and covid scare the heck out of me. I wanted immediate vaccination after giving birth but not sure that waiting is smart.

Help me be rational (and yes I have healthy anxiety).

I know a lot of pregnant persons are waiting, but the Delta variant is so contagious. Just because you've been safe so far, doesn't mean there is a guarantee you'll be safe until you deliver. After the first tri, I'd be more concerned with catching Covid, personally. But I I had Covid and two of my family members died. I know too well the feeling of wishing you could go back in time and make different decisions.

I also get that everything is scary when you're pregnant, but at 18 weeks, your baby has it's arms and face developed already. The biggest reason to be wary of the vaccine is the same reason to be scared of getting the flu while pregnant: a high fever during the first tri can cause issues. Women catch colds (which their immune system then fights) all the time while pregnant and don't worry their kid is going to suffer neurological issues for life. Pregnant persons also get the TDap and flu vaccines. The Covid vaccine functions in a lot of the same ways (by stimulating an immune response). I just don't see how it'll cause issues long term.