GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- New data just released has shown that August was the deadliest month for unvaccinated pregnant women since the pandemic began. And with that announcement, the CDC has issued its strongest warning yet to recent and soon-to-be mothers; urging them to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
A year and a half into the pandemic the concern of how a vaccine could affect an unborn child continues to weigh on soon-to-be mothers.
"They're just worried about putting something into their body that could potentially affect their unborn baby in a bad way," says Dr. Jennifer Milosavljevic of Prevea Health.
Dr. Milosavljevic meets unvaccinated pregnant women regularly and has encouraged them to get vaccinated since December when the vaccine was first made available. But at this point, the CDC reports that just 31 percent of pregnant women have received the shot and the ones who opted out of vaccinating are 70 percent more likely to die from the virus, compared to those who aren't.
"97 percent of those hospitalized were not vaccinated and that seems to be the reoccurring theme here in Brown County and throughout the country," adds Dr. Milosavljevic.
But the risks of being unvaccinated can impact more than just the mother. The CDC's latest research found that being an unvaccinated pregnant woman can also contribute to grave issues for their children.
"We've observed an increased risk of stillbirth and preterm birth with women who get COVID during pregnancy," says Dr. Stephen Sehring of the Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay.
Dr. Sehring says some unvaccinated mothers are having their children prematurely, or worse stillborn, and yet many out of concern for their unborn children's health are avoiding the shot.
"The data suggests they should be much more concerned about COVID than the vaccine," says Dr. Sehring urging women to vaccinate.
"In the state of Mississippi last month, they had double the rate of stillbirths than they have ever seen in history. That's insane," adds Dr. Milosavlijevic.
And with the CDC's latest advisory encouraging soon-to-be, and new moms to get vaccinated; local doctors are hoping the data can change minds.
"We're not just saying, hey, maybe you want to think about it. We're saying, we really think you should do this," adds Dr. Sehring.
