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COVID-19 Vaccination for People Who Would Like to Have a Baby

What to know

  • CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine. This includes people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future. Learn which vaccines are available by age and how to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination.
  • There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant) in women or men.
  • COVID-19 can make you very sick during pregnancy. Additionally, if you have COVID-19 during pregnancy, you are at increased risk of complications that can affect your pregnancy and developing baby.

Recommendations

CDC and Medical Professionals Recommend COVID-19 Vaccination for People Who Want to Have Children

Professional medical organizations12345 serving people of reproductive age, including adolescents, emphasize that there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination causes problems with fertility.

Did you know?‎

Evidence continues to grow showing that COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective before and during pregnancy.

Pregnancy After Vaccination

Many people have become pregnant after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, including some who got vaccinated during COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials678. In addition, a recent report using the COVID-19 vaccine pregnancy safety monitoring system data showed that 4,804 people had a positive pregnancy test after receiving the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Another report using data from eight U.S. healthcare systems documented more than 1,000 people who completed COVID-19 vaccination (with any COVID-19 vaccine) before becoming pregnant.

Keep Reading: COVID-19 Vaccination for People Who Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding

No Evidence That COVID-19 Vaccines Affect Fertility

There is currently no evidence that vaccine ingredients or antibodies made following COVID-19 vaccination would cause any problems with becoming pregnant now or in the future.

  • Recent studies have found no differences in pregnancy success rates among women who had antibodies from COVID-19 vaccines or from a recent COVID-19 infection and women who had no antibodies, including for patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology procedures (for example, in vitro fertilization)91011.
  • A study of more than 2,000 females aged 21-45 years and their partners found that COVID-19 vaccination of either partner did not affect the likelihood of becoming pregnant12.

Like with all vaccines, scientists continue to study COVID-19 vaccines carefully and will continue to report findings as they become available.

Limited, Temporary Impact of COVID-19 Vaccines on Menstrual Cycles

Results from recent research studies1314151617 show that people who menstruate may not observe any changes or they may observe small and temporary changes in their periods after COVID-19 vaccination, including:

  • Longer-lasting menstrual periods
  • Shorter intervals between periods
  • Heavier bleeding than usual

Despite these temporary changes in menstruation, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause fertility problems.

Research Studies of Fertility in Healthy Men

  • Currently, there is no evidence that shows vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause male fertility problems. A recent small study of 45 healthy men who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine looked at sperm characteristics, like quantity and movement, before and after vaccination. Researchers found no significant changes in these sperm characteristics after vaccination.18
    • However, one study12 found that COVID-19 infection may be associated with a decline in fertility for men for up to 60 days after infection.
  • Fever from any illness has been associated with a short-term decrease in sperm production19 in healthy men. Although fever can be a side effect of COVID-19 vaccination, there is no current evidence that fever after COVID-19 vaccination affects sperm production. Fever is also a common symptom of COVID-19 infection.

Safety Monitoring

COVID-19 vaccines are undergoing the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history. Data continue to accumulate and show that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for use before and during pregnancy.

Managing Side Effects

If you have side effects after COVID-19 vaccination, talk to your healthcare provider about taking over-the-counter medicine, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or antihistamines, for any pain or discomfort you may experience, including fever. You can take these medications to relieve short-term side effects after getting vaccinated if you have no medical reasons to avoid taking these medications.

Fever, for any reason, has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Fever in pregnancy may be treated with acetaminophen as needed, and in consultation with a healthcare provider. It is not recommended you take these medicines before vaccination to try to prevent side effects.

Keep Reading: Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines
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Content Source:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division
  1. American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Issue Joint Statement: Medical Experts Continue to Assert that COVID Vaccines Do Not Impact Fertility. February 5, 2021. Available at: https://www.asrm.org/news-and-publications/news-and-research/press-releases-and-bulletins/asrm-smfm-acog-issue-joint-statement-medical-experts-continue-to-assert-that-covid-vaccines-do-not-impact-fertility/.
  2. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). About the COVID-19 Vaccine: Frequently Asked Questions. Available at: https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/covid-19-vaccine-for-children/about-the-covid-19-vaccine-frequently-asked-questions/.
  3. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). COVID-19 Vaccination Considerations for Obstetric–Gynecologic Care. https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2020/12/covid-19-vaccination-considerations-for-obstetric-gynecologic-care.
  4. American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) Patient Management and Clinical Recommendations During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: UPDATE No. 16 – Reproductive Facts Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination. Available at: https://www.asrm.org/covid-update-16.
  5. Joint Statement Regarding COVID-19 Vaccine in Men Desiring Fertility. Society for Male Reproduction and Urology (SMRU) and Society for the Study of Male Reproduction (SSMR). January 9, 2021. Available at https://www.asrm.org/news-and-publications/covid-19/statements/joint-statement-regarding-covid-19-vaccine-in-men-desiring-fertility-from-the-society-for-male-reproduction-and-urology-smru-and-the-society-for-the-study-of-male-reproduction-ssmr/.
  6. Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting. FDA Briefing Document. Janssen Ad26.COV2.S Vaccine for the Prevention of COVID-19. February 26, 2021. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/146217/download.
  7. Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting. FDA Briefing Document. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. December 10, 2020. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/144245/download.
  8. Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting. FDA Briefing Document. Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. December 17, 2020. Available at: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee December 17, 2020 Meeting Briefing Document – FDA.
  9. Aharon D, Lederman M, Ghofranian A, et al. In Vitro Fertilization and Early Pregnancy Outcomes After Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination. Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Apr 1;139(4):490-497. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004713. Epub 2022 Jan 25. PMID: 35080199
  10. Morris RS. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein seropositivity from vaccination or infection does not cause sterility. F S Rep. 2021;2(3):253-255. doi:10.1016/j.xfre.2021.05.010
  11. Orvieto R, Noach-Hirsh M, Segev-Zahav A, Haas J, Nahum R, Aizer A. Does mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine influence patients’ performance during IVF-ET cycle?. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2021;19(1):69. Published 2021 May 13. doi:10.1186/s12958-021-00757-6
  12. Wesselink AK, Hatch EE, Rothman KJ, Wang TR, Willis MD, Yland J, Crowe HM, Geller RJ, Willis SK, Perkins RB, Regan AK, Levinson J, Mikkelsen EM, Wise LA. A Prospective Cohort Study of COVID-19 Vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 Infection, and Fertility. Am J Epidemiol. 2022 Jul 23;191(8):1383-1395. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwac011. PMID: 35051292; PMCID: PMC8807200
  13. Edelman A, Boniface ER, Benhar E, et al. Association Between Menstrual Cycle Length and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination: A U.S. Cohort. Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Apr 1;139(4):481-489. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004695. Epub 2022 Jan 5. PMID: 34991109; PMCID: PMC8936155
  14. Trogstad, L. Increased Occurrence of Menstrual Disturbances in 18- to 30-Year-Old Women after COVID-19 Vaccination (January 1, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3998180or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3998180
  15. Wong KK, Heilig CM, Hause A. et al. Menstrual irregularities and vaginal bleeding after COVID-19 vaccination reported to v-safe active surveillance, USA in December, 2020–January, 2022: an observational cohort study. Published:August 09, 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00125-X
  16. Laganà AS, Veronesi G, Ghezzi F, Ferrario MM, Cromi A, Bizzarri M, Garzon S, Cosentino M. Evaluation of menstrual irregularities after COVID-19 vaccination: Results of the MECOVAC survey. Open Med (Wars). 2022 Mar 9;17(1):475-484. doi: 10.1515/med-2022-0452. PMID: 35350834; PMCID: PMC8919838
  17. Gibson EA, Li H, Fruh V, et al. Covid-19 vaccination and menstrual cycle length in the Apple Women’s Health Study. NPJ Digit Med. 2022;5(1):165. Published 2022 Nov 2. doi:10.1038/s41746-022-00711-9
  18. Gonzalez DC, Nassau DE, Khodamoradi K, et al. Sperm Parameters Before and After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination. JAMA. 2021;326(3):273-274. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.997
  19. Carlsen E, Andersson AM, Petersen JH, Skakkebaek NE. History of febrile illness and variation in semen quality. Hum Reprod. 2003;18(10):2089-2092. doi:10.1093/humrep/deg412