What proportion of pregnant women have been fully vaccinated? | David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters

The share is likely to be higher than recent claims

Recent articles have stated that only about 15% of pregnant women in the UK have been fully vaccinated. This seems low, but is it right? The figure is quoted in a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists press release but the only source given is a Public Health England report that states that, up to 31 August, around 65,000 women receiving their second vaccination ticked a box asking: “Are you or could you be pregnant?”. However, this number does not tell us what we want to know.

Fortunately, Public Health Scotland links health records on vaccinations, pregnancies and births. Its report tells us that, of 4,069 women who gave birth in August 2021, only 615 (15%) had received two vaccine doses. These women will have been pregnant throughout the vaccine rollout and have clearly tended to avoid vaccination – of women aged 35-39 giving birth in August, 23% were fully vaccinated, far fewer than the 71% for all adults aged 30-39.

David Spiegelhalter is chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at Cambridge. Anthony Masters is statistical ambassador for the Royal Statistical Society

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Stella Creasy on her lonely maternity cover battle: ‘Women should be able to have kids and do politics’

The Labour politician is used to fighting battles – but can she win her latest: convincing her colleagues to back proper maternity cover for fellow members?

Stella Creasy is dodging people on the pavement as we talk. She apologises for the background noise but it’s hard finding time for a conversation when you have a newborn son, a toddler daughter, and no proper maternity leave from a full-time job as Labour MP for Walthamstow; this walk to an appointment is the only window she has. Last month, she spoke in a Commons debate on childcare, baby Pip in a sling, sounding astonishingly composed for someone who had given birth four weeks earlier. I ask how she’s feeling and she laughs briefly and says: “Tired as hell, mad as anything.”

And then it all comes tumbling out: the night before that debate, she’d been in hospital with an infection she thinks was brought on by doing too much. The day after her caesarean, she was dialling into meetings with the defence secretary from hospital – she has had about 200 cases in her London constituency of people seeking help getting family members out of Afghanistan – and has barely stopped since. “There wasn’t any alternative,” she says. “These are people ringing up my staff threatening to kill themselves because they’re so worried about family members. You can hear the terror in their voices.” Meanwhile, she’s grappling with “the mum guilt” for not taking more time off, while struggling to be patient with people in parliament who ask how she is, only to back away when answered honestly. Having lost a battle with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) this summer over the maternity leave cover she wanted, Creasy refuses to draw a polite veil over the consequences. And if that means breaking the working mother taboo against admitting that everything is not in fact fine, then so be it.

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It’s scandalous so few pregnant women in the UK are vaccinated against Covid | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

It’s the wise thing to do for mother and child, yet official advice has been insufficient and mixed

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It is coming up to a year since the first mRNA vaccines were approved for use against Covid-19, and almost seven months since they were approved for expectant mothers. The initial government advice was was that they should hold off getting a jab, but since more data has become available, medical experts have been encouraging women to get vaccinated. But there has been no big government awareness campaign, despite pregnant women being identified as a vulnerable group. I knew the proportion of fully vaccinated pregnant women in the UK would be low, but I did not expect it to be as low as 15% (in the US, it is more than twice that, at 33.8%).

That such a small porportion of pregnant women are fully vaccinated in the UK, seven months after vaccines were approved for them, is nothing short of a scandal. And more women and their babies are at risk of dying because of it. Recent figures for England show that one in six critically ill patients are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid. Of the 20 pregnant women requiring the highest level of life-saving care, 19 were unvaccinated and one had received one dose.

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author

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Pregnant women are being turned away from Covid vaccine clinics, experts warn

Members of JCVI say focus on those who have not had any jabs must take precedence over efforts to increase booster uptake

• Why pregnant women need clearer messaging on Covid vaccine safety
• Coronavirus – latest updates

Pregnant women are being turned away from Covid vaccine clinics despite clinical advice, experts have warned as they urged ministers to ramp up efforts to reach unvaccinated groups.

Members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) told the Guardian that efforts to increase booster jab uptake will not be sufficient to prevent more deaths and hospitalisations, and that ministers must prioritise reaching those who have had no jabs. In particular they urged a focus on pregnant women as only about 15% in the UK have been fully vaccinated. Among all over-12s, the figure is 79%.

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Why pregnant women need clearer messaging on Covid vaccine safety

Analysis: early uncertainty around vaccination advice for expectant mothers has left them confused and hesitant

• Pregnant women are being turned away from Covid vaccine clinics, experts warn
• Coronavirus – latest updates

In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, there was uncertainty around almost everything, from who was more adversely affected by Covid-19 to who should get vaccinated first – or at all.

But as awareness about the illness and vaccine safety has grown, one group in particular remains confused and torn about the risk of immunisation: expectant mothers.

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‘Gunmen killed a midwife who refused to leave a woman in labour’

Zahra Mirzaei pioneered ‘groundbreaking’ maternity services in Kabul, but has been forced to flee. She says she won’t stop fighting for dignified care for Afghanistan’s women and girls

When Afghanistan’s first midwife-led birth centre opened in the impoverished district of Dasht-e-Barchi in western Kabul this year it was a symbol of hope and defiance.

It began receiving expectant mothers in June, just over a year after a devastating attack by gunmen on the maternity wing at the local hospital left 24 people dead, including 16 mothers, a midwife and two young children.

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‘People say it’s a miracle, but it’s not: the Royal Brompton saved Christina’

How experts at London hospital treated woman who went into cardiogenic shock after C-section

• London hospital uses ‘James Bond medicine’ to tackle rare heart condition

Christina Randall went into cardiogenic shock at Watford general hospital in February, moments after giving birth to baby Ronnie by planned caesarean section. She was put into a coma and was “rescued” by a team from the Royal Brompton hospital in London, who were unsure if she would survive the journey there.

However, after treatment at the Brompton, including spending time having extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the 40-year-old shop manager was transferred back to Watford general, made a full recovery, went home and is in very good health.

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‘The Taliban killed a midwife who refused to leave a woman in labour’

Zahra Mirzaei pioneered ‘groundbreaking’ maternity services in Kabul, but has been forced to flee. She says she won’t stop fighting for dignified care for Afghanistan’s women and girls

When Afghanistan’s first midwife-led birth centre opened in the impoverished district of Dasht-e-Barchi in western Kabul this year it was a symbol of hope and defiance.

It began receiving expectant mothers in June, just over a year after a devastating attack by gunmen on the maternity wing at the local hospital left 24 people dead, including 16 mothers, a midwife and two young children.

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NHS maternity services near breaking point, warns top doctor

Exclusive: UK’s most senior gynaecologist is latest clinician to raise alarm about mounting Covid pressures

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The NHS could soon be unable to deliver “the care it needs to” for women giving birth if the surge in Covid cases continues, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has said.

Dr Edward Morris, the UK’s most senior gynaecologist, became the latest high-ranking clinician to raise the alarm about the increasing pressures on the health service as Covid cases rise and it battles a huge backlog of 5.7 million patients caused by the first and second waves of the virus.

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Medicare rebate to be available for Australians using IVF to identify genetic disorders

Claims for testing of conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease and other illnesses will be allowed from 1 November

Australians using IVF testing to help prevent them passing serious genetic disorders to their child can soon claim a rebate on Medicare.

Until now, people who know they are carriers of serious genetic disorders could only access these testing services if they were able to pay privately.

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I lost a TV role because I was pregnant – and I’m far from the only one | Jade Anouka

My pregnancy made no difference to the part, but insurers wouldn’t cover me. Talent is too often lost to discrimination

The entertainment industry likes to think it is a champion of diversity and inclusivity, jumping to call out those who are homophobic, racist, ableist and sexist. But as a queer black female actor I know all too well how far we still have to go. There is another prejudice infesting the industry, one that is kept in the shadows: pregnancy discrimination.

I was recently offered a TV role unlike any I’d been given the opportunity to play before and I was thrilled. I was pregnant when cast, but I knew this wouldn’t pose any challenges for the production: the character spent most of the story sitting down, the setting meant clothing could cover my bump, or the character could be pregnant, especially as all the action took place over a matter of days.

Jade Anouka is an actor who has appeared in His Dark Materials and on stage in the Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy

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Doctors call on NHS to offer women more help after first miscarriage

Current rules state support only has to be provided to those who have had three unsuccessful pregnancies

Women who lose a baby during pregnancy should be offered help after undergoing one miscarriage rather than the three currently needed to trigger NHS support, doctors say.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) want the NHS to overhaul their rules so that any woman who suffers a miscarriage receives some form of care, mainly information and guidance, to help them cope with their loss and plan future pregnancies.

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After 30 years in obstetrics, Covid vaccination has made me reassess my advice to pregnant patients| Jenny Dowd

Usually known for my forthright opinions, I have altered my approach to spend time trying to understand my patients’ vaccination fears

Pregnant women try to do the best for their baby’s health and development, yet, when something is new – such as Covid-19 vaccinations – it can be hard to make decisions for yourself, let alone for your unborn child. In this time of rapidly changing public health announcements, it’s not surprising that some pregnant women are hesitant when it comes to Covid-19 vaccinations.

The negative consequences of not getting vaccinated were starkly displayed in recent figures from England, showing that one in six critically ill patients are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid. Of the 20 women requiring high-level and invasive intensive care treatment, 19 were unvaccinated and one had received one dose.

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Pregnant women at risk from health professionals’ mixed messages over safety of jab

Expectant mothers tell helpline that midwives are advising them against vaccines despite threat posed by virus

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Pregnant women are being advised by some health professionals not to have the Covid vaccine despite an edict from the NHS that they should encourage them to get the jab. One in six of the most critically ill Covid patients requiring life-saving care are unvaccinated pregnant women, figures released last week show.

Yet messages sent to the Vaccines and Pregnancy helpline, launched on 20 August to help pregnant women navigate information about the vaccine, suggest that some midwives are advising against the jab.

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Policing pregnancy while corporate drug pushers go free shows warped values | Arwa Mahdawi

A system that can put a young woman away for four years for suffering a miscarriage should make your blood boil

Brittney Poolaw is going to prison for having a miscarriage. Last week the 21-year-old Oklahoma woman was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree after losing her baby at 17 weeks. She’s already spent a year and a half in jail – one of the most dangerous places to be during the pandemic – awaiting trial because she couldn’t afford the $20,000 bond. Now, after a one-day trial, she’s facing four years in state prison.

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Miscarriage is the most common pregnancy complication. So why are we so bad at treating it? | Isabelle Oderberg

I hear every day from women desperate to be heard, to have their horror stories told in the hope of helping others

When I started investigating lapses in care in early pregnancy loss, I had no idea how easy it would be to find patients to speak to. Even now, two years on, people who experience miscarriage contact me every day, desperate to be heard, seen, to have their horror stories told in the hope that it won’t happen to anyone else.

Every time I think I’ve seen or heard the worst of it, I turn a corner and there’s a story waiting for me that’s so awful it makes every hair on the back of my neck stand up.

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‘Pregnancy is a scary time’: four women on getting the Covid vaccine

Recipients of jab while pregnant recall confusing advice and ‘vicious’ social media comments

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One in six of the most critically ill patients are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid, NHS England figures show.

Experts in pregnancy and women’s health have been concerned at the number of mothers-to-be who have not been immunised.

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Pregnant women in the UK: have you changed your mind about Covid vaccination?

We would like to hear from women about their experiences of the vaccine and whether they have changed their mind recently

According to new figures from NHS England, one in six of the most critically ill patients are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid.

We would like to hear from women about their experiences of Covid vaccines. Have you recently changed your mind having previously been hesitant, or vice versa?

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One in six most critically ill patients are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid

NHS England release statistics after evidence Covid can cause serious problems for mothers-to-be and their babies

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One in six patients requiring the NHS’s highest form of life-saving care are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid, new figures reveal.

Twenty of the 118 patients with Covid who received extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (Ecmo) between July and September were mothers-to-be, NHS England said.

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My partner ghosted me after I miscarried our child. What did I do wrong?

Where did you learn it was up to you to make things better? Now focus on healing yourself

I had a lockdown romance with someone I met through online dating. He was the first man I’d dated after coming out of an abusive relationship, and it was refreshing. He was open and relaxed, and made me feel really good.

We met up when we could, and earlier this year I found out I was pregnant. It was a complete shock to me, as it was to him. Having said that, I realised that, at my age, this was my chance to have a child, and I wanted it very much.

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Asos offers staff flexible work and paid leave during menopause

Fertility treatment, pregnancy loss and other health and life challenges covered in retailer’s support policy

Staff at the online fashion store Asos will be allowed to work flexibly, as well as take time off at short notice, while going through the menopause.

It is one of several new policies being introduced by the clothing retailer aimed at supporting its employees who are “going through health-related life events”.

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Why are so many pregnant women not taking the vaccine?

Only 31% of pregnant Americans are fully vaccinated. I felt responsible for this bean-like bundle forming in my body. But the conflicting advice made it hard for me to decide

These are the first three things I did when I found out I was pregnant in February. I took about six more tests. Then, I called the doctor’s office to make an appointment. A few days later, I signed up for a Covid-19 vaccine. I stood in line, freezing, at a high school in Coney Island to get my shot.

Deciding to get the vaccine that same month was not easy – even as a former health reporter accustomed to deciphering medical journals. I felt a very visceral and personal responsibility toward this bean-like bundle forming in my body. There were only preliminary studies about vaccine safety – saying the vaccine was likely safe – but based on participants who didn’t know they were pregnant during trials. Gynaecologists and family physicians had not yet achieved full and public consensus on their recommendations as most have now.

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Fear on the ward: UK mothers threatened with social services for refusing maternity care

Women who turn down advice from health service staff say they are being coerced with threats of referrals to agencies and police

Pregnant women and new mothers are being referred to social services by midwives for refusing to follow their advice, patient advocacy groups have warned.

Expectant parents who have declined care, including opting out of scans, refusing inductions or failing to attend antenatal appointments, are among those who have faced threats from healthcare professionals amounting to coercion, according to the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (Aims).

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Pregnant people urged to get vaccinated amid abysmal US inoculation rates

CDC ‘strongly’ recommends shots, with only a third of pregnant adults in the US having received Covid vaccines

Pregnant and breastfeeding people are facing abysmal vaccination rates and increasing health risks from the Delta variant, and they urgently need to be vaccinated, experts warn.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday “strongly” recommended vaccination before or during pregnancy, echoing calls in August for the life-saving shots.

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