Would a COVID vaccine change your TTC timeline?

[Anonymous]

We had just decided to go ahead and start trying for a second child before the vaccine trials were published, and the news has me back to questioning our timing.

It’s so hard not knowing if it will be 4 months or 8 months until a vaccine is actually available to the public, and whether pregnant women or nursing mothers will be able to get it. My family met DC1 once or twice before before lockdown, and our parenting journey has been in isolation. It’s hard to be unable to share first words, first steps, first birthday. Part of me is afraid that moving forward now will mean another full year of separation from my family and missing DC1’s second birthday as well (family live on the west coast and have health issues). Maybe delaying just a few months until the vaccine is safer. And maybe it makes us older parents with a bigger gap in our children’s ages.

Is anyone else struggling with planning around the pandemic?

[Anonymous]

It probably won’t be specifically approved for use by pregnant women. Even if there’s no evidence that it can hurt a fetus, they also won’t have evidence it doesn’t, so getting it would be a gamble.

[Anonymous]

No. I don't care

[Anonymous]

I don't think approval for pregnant women is a problem that will be solved in a few months. I would TTC as soon as you are ready and maybe the vaccine will be widely available by the time you give birth.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t let it change my plans. There are too many factors you can’t control with the vaccine. You can control TTC. If you wait and face secondary infertility, are you okay with only having one child? If not, start trying now.

[Anonymous]

OP in a similar boat as you. We just started trying but now I'm wondering if we should wait. I think the other posters are right that there likely won't be a vaccine approved for pregnant women anytime soon, but maybe we could get the vaccine before getting pregnant in, say, March, which wouldn't be so long to wait to start trying. On the other hand it took us over a year to conceive our first so the prospect of waiting another five months feels brutal!

[Anonymous]

We're waiting to TTC till spring when our first kid turns 3. Figured by then that we'll know if inoculation for me is right around the corner. If it looks like the vaccine distribution will be delayed, we'll just start TTCing and go from there.

[Anonymous]

How old are you? The fact you’re otherwise ready to start TCC with a 1 year old make me think you may be on the older side. If that’s the case, I absolutely would not delay.

[Anonymous]

It's an easier decision for me because in our case it would be for a third, not a second. And due to the massive secondary infertility troubles we had before having our second, I've already made my peace with the fact our family may already be complete even if it isn't exactly voluntary. But I digress. I am definitely waiting. I do not want to go through pregnancy in an active pandemic, and I absolutely want to get the vaccine. I am working under the assumption that it will not be approved for pregnant women anytime in the foreseeable future. So, we'll see how long it takes for it to be available, and take things from there.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what to do either. I'm almost 36 1/2 and have a 14-month old. Without COVID / vaccine concerns we would like to start trying soon (although it appears I would need to wean my toddler first).

I would really like one more child and I'm worried about waiting because of my age. If the vaccine were coming in March, I think I would wait. June or later, I really don't think I want to wait that long. It's tough. I'm worried about being in a position where I'm pregnant and then can't get the vaccine once it's available, which is what I assume would happen. On the other hand, I think we could isolate reasonably well this winter since my husband WFH and I am home right now with our toddler. Since everyone all over the country is basically going to be holed up through the winter maybe it wouldn't be such a bad time to be pregnant.

[Anonymous]

I would not wait unless you are 20 years old. Struggling to get pregnant is a real thing due to so many factors, food, pollution. Planning that far ahead is useless. Imagine all the pregnant women in January who thought all was normal and bam COViD.

You are unless to get a vaccine because vaccines usually not recommended for pregnant women (although give it a few years to exploit that). And second more likely COViD has phased out past this second wave.

[Anonymous]

If it is widely available and everyone else gets it, you can be protected by herd immunity (esp if DH and close friends get it).

If you already have a kid you probably need to get on this soon. Just do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's an easier decision for me because in our case it would be for a third, not a second. And due to the massive secondary infertility troubles we had before having our second, I've already made my peace with the fact our family may already be complete even if it isn't exactly voluntary. But I digress. I am definitely waiting. I do not want to go through pregnancy in an active pandemic, and I absolutely want to get the vaccine. I am working under the assumption that it will not be approved for pregnant women anytime in the foreseeable future. So, we'll see how long it takes for it to be available, and take things from there.[/quot


But it also probably won’t be approved for women considering pregnancy. So if you get the vaccine in June, you shouldn’t be pregnant until December 2021. That’s a whole year to even start TTC. For many women here, that means a long, expensive journey that could have been avoided.

[Anonymous]

I would not wait; there will always be a reason to wait. As someone who just went through a round of IVF you don’t want to run the risk of what if we had tried a few months or a year sooner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's an easier decision for me because in our case it would be for a third, not a second. And due to the massive secondary infertility troubles we had before having our second, I've already made my peace with the fact our family may already be complete even if it isn't exactly voluntary. But I digress. I am definitely waiting. I do not want to go through pregnancy in an active pandemic, and I absolutely want to get the vaccine. I am working under the assumption that it will not be approved for pregnant women anytime in the foreseeable future. So, we'll see how long it takes for it to be available, and take things from there.[/quot


But it also probably won’t be approved for women considering pregnancy. So if you get the vaccine in June, you shouldn’t be pregnant until December 2021. That’s a whole year to even start TTC. For many women here, that means a long, expensive journey that could have been avoided.

Where did you get this information? Are you assuming this or has this been reported?