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Knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women on maternal immunization against COVID-19 in Croatia

  • Tina Tatarević EMAIL logo , Iva Tkalčec , Dorian Stranić , Goran Tešović und Ratko Matijević
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 22. August 2022
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
Aus der Zeitschrift Journal of Perinatal Medicine Band 51 Heft 3

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess pregnant women’s knowledge and attitudes regarding maternal COVID-19 immunization during pregnancy.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed in two teaching hospitals between May and October 2021 in Zagreb, Croatia. During antenatal clinic visit pregnant women were approached and asked to fill out a predesigned questionnaire about their knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. Collected data was later analyzed.

Results

A total of 430 women participated in the study. Only 16% of women expressed their willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if offered, despite that 71% of them believe that COVID-19 might be a serious illness in pregnant women. The most important obstacle in having better acceptance of the vaccines is in the assumption that the vaccines are not safe for pregnant women (73%) or the fetus (75%), or that the vaccines are not effective (41%). The relationship exists between acceptance of vaccination in general and willingness to get other vaccines in pregnancy and readiness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in pregnancy. Only one out of 55 women who were not adherent to the current vaccination recommendations in Croatia would accept the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy if offered. 21 (5%) women stated that vaccination against influenza and pertussis during pregnancy is necessary and 13 (62%) of them would get vaccinated against COVID-19 if offered.

Conclusions

This study showed that the crucial reasons for refusing vaccination against COVID-19 among pregnant women in Croatia are the concerns about the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety. All healthcare providers should put more effort into education of pregnant women on risks of COVID-19, as well as on the benefits and safety of the vaccines.

Keywords: COVID -19; maternal immunization; pregnant women; vaccines
Corresponding author: Tina Tatarević, Medical student, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 3, 10, 000, Zagreb, Croatia, Phone: +38955200365, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: None declared.

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Non applicable.

  5. Ethical approval: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, as well as from both of the institutions where the study was conducted.

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Received: 2022-03-28
Accepted: 2022-06-24
Published Online: 2022-08-22
Published in Print: 2023-03-28

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. A Celebration of Professor Joachim Dudenhausen
  4. Reviews
  5. Gestational complications associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women during 2020–2021: systematic review of longitudinal studies
  6. Eclampsia a preventable tragedy: an African overview
  7. Original Articles – Obstetrics
  8. How do bicornuate uteri alter pregnancy, intra-partum and neonatal risks? A population based study of more than three million deliveries and more than 6000 bicornuate uteri
  9. Maternal urogenital infection and fetal heart functional assessment – what is the missing link?
  10. Knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women on maternal immunization against COVID-19 in Croatia
  11. Retrospective review of GCT cutoff value based on pre-pregnancy BMI class in patients with GDM
  12. Cervical strain elastography: pattern analysis and cervical sliding sign in preterm and control pregnancies
  13. Maternal race/ethnicity impacts the success rates of external cephalic version (ECV) in the United States
  14. Fetal adrenal gland size and umbilical artery Doppler in growth-restricted fetuses
  15. Counseling pregnant women on calcium: effects on calcium intake
  16. Relationship among anogenital distance, adrenal gland volume, and penile length and width at 22–36 weeks of pregnancy
  17. Intra-amniotic inflammation in the mid-trimester of pregnancy is a risk factor for neuropsychological disorders in childhood
  18. Genetic amniocentesis using atraumatic 29 gauge needle in patients having a chorioamniotic separation
  19. YouTube as a source of patient information on external cephalic version
  20. Midwives’ personal and professional attitudes towards women’s delivery choices, interventions and neonatal care
  21. Maternal serum midkine level in fetal growth restriction: a case-control study
  22. Original Articles – Neonates
  23. Interventions for reducing late-onset sepsis in neonates: an umbrella review
  24. Maternal knowledge of recommendations for safe infant sleep and intentions for implementation – a cross sectional analysis of data from the KUNO-Kids birth cohort study
  25. Short Communication
  26. Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 protein is present in maternal blood in the third trimester and is upregulated by antenatal corticosteroids
  27. Letters to the Editor
  28. Peripartum hysterectomy at a tertiary university perinatal center – retrospective analysis of the 25-year period
  29. Neonate, infected mother and monkeypox: the present concern
https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2022-0171
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
COVID -19; maternal immunization; pregnant women; vaccines

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. A Celebration of Professor Joachim Dudenhausen
  4. Reviews
  5. Gestational complications associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women during 2020–2021: systematic review of longitudinal studies
  6. Eclampsia a preventable tragedy: an African overview
  7. Original Articles – Obstetrics
  8. How do bicornuate uteri alter pregnancy, intra-partum and neonatal risks? A population based study of more than three million deliveries and more than 6000 bicornuate uteri
  9. Maternal urogenital infection and fetal heart functional assessment – what is the missing link?
  10. Knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women on maternal immunization against COVID-19 in Croatia
  11. Retrospective review of GCT cutoff value based on pre-pregnancy BMI class in patients with GDM
  12. Cervical strain elastography: pattern analysis and cervical sliding sign in preterm and control pregnancies
  13. Maternal race/ethnicity impacts the success rates of external cephalic version (ECV) in the United States
  14. Fetal adrenal gland size and umbilical artery Doppler in growth-restricted fetuses
  15. Counseling pregnant women on calcium: effects on calcium intake
  16. Relationship among anogenital distance, adrenal gland volume, and penile length and width at 22–36 weeks of pregnancy
  17. Intra-amniotic inflammation in the mid-trimester of pregnancy is a risk factor for neuropsychological disorders in childhood
  18. Genetic amniocentesis using atraumatic 29 gauge needle in patients having a chorioamniotic separation
  19. YouTube as a source of patient information on external cephalic version
  20. Midwives’ personal and professional attitudes towards women’s delivery choices, interventions and neonatal care
  21. Maternal serum midkine level in fetal growth restriction: a case-control study
  22. Original Articles – Neonates
  23. Interventions for reducing late-onset sepsis in neonates: an umbrella review
  24. Maternal knowledge of recommendations for safe infant sleep and intentions for implementation – a cross sectional analysis of data from the KUNO-Kids birth cohort study
  25. Short Communication
  26. Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 protein is present in maternal blood in the third trimester and is upregulated by antenatal corticosteroids
  27. Letters to the Editor
  28. Peripartum hysterectomy at a tertiary university perinatal center – retrospective analysis of the 25-year period
  29. Neonate, infected mother and monkeypox: the present concern
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