What factors influence the uptake of vaccinations amongst pregnant women following the Covid-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.

Background: Pregnant women and their unborn babies are at increased risk from serious complications, hospitalisation and death from infectious diseases. Vaccinations for influenza (flu), pertussis (whooping cough) and Covid-19 are available for free for pregnant women in the UK, but uptake of these repeatedly remains low. This qualitative study aimed to explore how pregnant women feel about these vaccinations, and what factors influence the uptake of vaccinations amongst pregnant women since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Methods: Pregnant women were recruited via two participating hospitals in one geographic area of the UK, and via one community group offering support to pregnant women from ethnic minorities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted remotely using telephone, were anonymised and transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings: Interviews were conducted remotely with 43 pregnant women. The following themes were identified as influencing uptake of vaccinations amongst pregnant women: internal factors and beliefs, vaccination related factors, external influences and Covid-19 and changing perceptions of the pandemic.
Discussion: Findings of this study increase awareness of some of the factors influencing vaccination decisions of pregnant women. It informs practice regarding healthcare professionals' discussions with pregnant women about vaccinations, and future vaccination campaigns and interventions that are targeting an increase in vaccination uptake amongst this population.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Debra Bick is Editor in Chief of Midwifery, but all editorial decisions from submission to final decision have been undertaken by one of ‘Midwifery's’ associate editors. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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