Should Pregnant Women Get The COVID Vaccine?

We healthcare workers have cared for some pregnant women with COVID. A pediatrician informed me that we like to keep their oxygen saturation above 95%. This is due to concerns that anything less might cause fetal asphyxia. So this is what we have been doing. 

For most people with COVID, we want to keep their oxygen saturation 88 percent or higher. But with pregnant women, obviously, we are caring for two patients. So, this is the reason for the goal of higher minimal oxygen saturation. At the time of this writing, I am not sure if this is based on actual studies or if it is just a number that is made up. 

The goal though is to make sure the baby, along with the mother, is getting enough oxygen. And so, I had one such patient a doctor was thinking about incubating. And I said, "Well, she is getting 94% FiO2 from the high flow. And she is needing an NRB above that to maintain a sat of 95 percent. But, if we were just treating the patient, I don't think she would even need the high flow. In fact, her saturation was 95% on just an NRB before I set that up. And the estimated FiO2 with that is about 75%. So, I don't think she needs to be intubated based on the amount of oxygen she is currently on. But, you are the expert. I will do as you say."

I added the disclaimer at the end there as I do not have much experience taking care of pregnant women, let alone pregnant women with COVID. 

This brings up some questions. Does pregnancy act as a co-morbidity that increases a woman's risk for developing severe COVID-19? Does COVID-19 affect pregnant women worse than women of the same age who develop COVID-19 but are not pregnant? What impact does COVID-19 have on the fetus? More specifically, what impact does severe COVID-19 have on the fetus? 

And then we have the topic of vaccines. Many, if not most, of these patients, are unvaccinated. So, what is the percentage of pregnant women who are vaccinated? What percentage go unvaccinated? Is this number higher than for non-pregnant women of the same age? If fewer pregnant women are getting the vaccine compared to non-pregnant women, why is this? 

My theory is fear of what the vaccine might do to the unborn child cause pregnant women to think twice before getting the vaccine. Or perhaps this same fear resides in the medical community. 

I am wondering if it would bode better for the mom and child to just get the vaccine. Because fetal asphyxia can cause fetal neurological problems that the child would have to live with. It can and has caused fetal death 

So, this is just me thinking. I will investigate this further and report my findings.