• If you test positive for the virus, precautions will be taken before, during and after delivery.
• Your provider will be notified and will discuss care during your pregnancy. If you’re close to delivery, your provider will discuss the plan for your admission to the hospital.
• Watch for symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath (seek care right away if you have difficulty breathing), fever (over 100.0 F or higher), chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue (tired, weak), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of appetite and report any illness or changes to their doctor.

There is not enough data to determine with certainty whether pregnant women are more susceptible to acquiring the SAR-CoV-2 virus. However, reports from the CDC and elsewhere suggest that pregnancy is an independent risk factor for COVID-19 disease severity.

• The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly by close contact with an infected person through respiratory droplets. Limited data suggests that the COVID-19 virus does not cross the placenta. Few cases of COVID-19 have been reported in newborns.
• The majority of pregnant people with COVID-19 have given birth to healthy babies.

• We recommend family members who have been in close contact with you discuss testing and monitoring with their primary doctor.
• They should watch for symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath (seek care right away if they have difficulty breathing), fever (over 100.0 F or higher), chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue (tired, weak), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of appetite, and report any illness to their doctor.

You’re allowed to bring one support person with you. Your support person can remain with you throughout your stay, but must keep their entry and exit of the hospital to a minimum. A new health order from the California Department of Public Health went into effect August 11, 2021. Sutter hospital visitors must verify that they’re fully vaccinated or provide documentation of a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test administered within 72 hours before their visit. Masks are required in healthcare settings regardless of vaccine status.

Limited exceptions are allowed for partners, support persons and doulas accompanying laboring patients. These visitors must pass symptom screening and follow all masking and other infection control measures. Please confirm the visitation rules at your hospital since local and county orders can vary.

Please note that rapid testing for COVID-19 will not be available onsite at our facilities. See acceptable proof of vaccination options and find out where you can get tested.

• During labor, some things may be a little different from what you expected. You’ll have a dedicated nurse, and fewer staff will come in and out of your room. Some communications may be done over the phone instead of face-to-face.
• You’ll need to wear a mask. Those taking care of you will wear facemasks, eye shields, gowns and gloves.
• Being COVID-19 positive doesn't affect the mode of delivery (vaginal versus cesarean) or your choice of pain control.

• Care will be decided through shared decision making between you and your provider/pediatrician.
• A healthy person may visit the baby and participate in their care. Your baby’s pediatrician will provide information on how to care for your baby when you’re discharged from the hospital.

• In limited studies, COVID-19 hasn’t been detected in breast milk. However, we don’t know for sure whether mothers with COVID-19 can spread the virus via breast milk.
• We recommend hand hygiene prior to directly breastfeeding or pumping.
• If you choose to directly breastfeed, wear a facemask and wash your hands before each feeding.
• If you choose to express breast milk:
• Express breast milk to establish and maintain milk supply.
• A dedicated breast pump will be provided.
• Wash hands before touching any pump or bottle parts and before expressing breast milk.

Your provider will discuss the risks and benefits of being tested and how testing could benefit you and your baby.

According to the CDC, evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing. Current data suggest that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.

According to the CDC, while the overall risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is low, pregnant people with COVID-19 have an increased risk of severe illness. This includes illness that results in ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and death compared with nonpregnant women of reproductive age. Additionally, pregnant people with COVID-19 might be at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth, compared with pregnant women without COVID-19.

CDC guidance strongly recommends that all people 12 years and older get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now or who might become pregnant in the future. COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to pose a risk to a person trying to become pregnant in the short or long term. In addition, there’s no evidence suggesting that fertility problems are a side effect of any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines.

None of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus. This means the vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

Vaccines are designed to stimulate the human body’s own protective immune response, so if a person is infected, their immune system can recognize the infection and react to it. The CDC reminds people that although COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting sick, scientists are still learning how well vaccines prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to others, even if you don’t have symptoms. Early data show the vaccines do help keep people with no symptoms from spreading COVID-19, but we’re learning more as more people get vaccinated.

Clinical trials for the current COVID-19 vaccines haven’t included people who are breastfeeding, and the effects of vaccination are still not fully known. In general, it’s possible to pass protection in the form of antibodies to your baby through breastfeeding. A new study from Providence Portland Medical Center in Oregon revealed that after a COVID-19 vaccination, it appeared women were passing antibodies in breast milk that may be protective for infants. As more people are vaccinated, more data will likely become available.

COVID-19 vaccine side effects are not expected to be any different for pregnant people than for non-pregnant people. Side effects can occur after receiving any of the available COVID-19 vaccines. If you receive the mRNA vaccine, the side effects may be greater after the second dose. Side effects often feel like flu symptoms and can start within hours or days of receiving the vaccine. The side effects usually go away within a few days.

Common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include:

In the arm where you got the shot:

• Pain
• Redness
• Swelling

Throughout the rest of your body:

• Tiredness
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Chills
• Fever
• Nausea

For three weeks after receiving the Janssen/J&J vaccine, you should be on the lookout for possible symptoms of a blood clot with low platelets. These include:

• Severe or persistent headaches or blurred vision
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Leg swelling
• Persistent abdominal pain
• Easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the injection site

Some people have experienced allergic reactions after getting the vaccine. The CDC recommends all vaccine recipients, including pregnant people, talk with their healthcare provider if they have a history of severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to any other vaccines or injections.

If you have symptoms from COVID-19, you should meet all the criteria below before getting a COVID-19 vaccine:

• At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset.
• At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without use of fever-reducing medications.
• Other symptoms have improved.

If you tested positive but don’t have symptoms from COVID-19, wait 10 days after the first positive test was collected before getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC advises COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines may be given at any time. You don’t need to wait between vaccines, and you can receive the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines on the same day.