Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
There is no correlation between risk of miscarriages in the first trimester and receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new study.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine, analyzed several health registries in Norway to compare the proportion of vaccinated individuals who experienced a miscarriage during the first trimester and those who were still pregnant at the end of the trimester.
"Our study found no evidence of an increased risk for early pregnancy loss after COVID-19 vaccination and adds to the findings from other reports supporting COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy," the authors wrote in an online letter published Wednesday.
The study tracked 13,956 individuals with ongoing pregnancies, of whom 5.5 per cent were vaccinated, as well as 4,521 who experienced miscarriages, of whom 5.1 per cent were vaccinated. In Norway, vaccination during the first trimester is not recommended except in those with underlying risk conditions, but it's possible some were not yet aware that they were pregnant may still have been vaccinated.
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that a full vaccine course be offered to pregnant individuals.
According to the study's calculations, adjusting for factors such as age and previously diagnosed medical conditions, individuals who suffered a miscarriage were 9 per cent less likely to have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Results of the study were similar across all vaccine types, whether vaccine recipients had one or two doses.
The study is good news for expectant parents experiencing early pregnancy who are vaccinated or those who are curious about pregnancy post-vaccination. Most miscarriages occur during the first trimester, according to the authors of the study.
"Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk for adverse outcomes, and COVID-19 vaccination is recommended during pregnancy," they wrote.
The findings are among the latest in a number of studies regarding COVID-19 and pregnancy.
Last week, the New Brunswick Medical Society urged pregnant individuals to get vaccinated as they are four times more likely to be hospitalized from the virus. In Ontario, vaccination numbers are lagging behind among those who are pregnant, despite evidence of increased risk for this group.
A study published earlier this month indicated those who were pregnant and contracted the virus were more likely to need emergency deliveries if they were symptomatic.
Research has also shown COVID-19 infection raises risks of negative outcomes for both pregnant individuals and their newborns.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.