‘I am not an anti‐vaxxer’: Women's Diverging Representations of <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 Vaccination and Pregnancy

ABSTRACT Despite a disproportionate risk of harm from contracting COVID‐19, pregnant women in Australia are reluctant to vaccinate. Drawing from social representations theory, this study investigated lay knowledge associated with women, pregnancy and COVID‐19 vaccination towards the end of the pandemic. Women in regional New South Wales ( N = 103; M age = 39.76) completed an online survey comprising risk/benefit scales and a word association task. Results revealed that pregnant women and women considering pregnancy perceived ‘pregnant women’ as being at high risk from the COVID‐19 virus and AstraZeneca vaccine. Regardless of pregnancy status, patterns in women's perceived risk of the virus and vaccines differed by vaccination status and reasoning. Risk and pregnancy issues frequently co‐occurred in women's associations. However, the meaning of these associations varied in relation to women's vaccination experiences. Conceptualised as ‘thema’ risk/safety was central to a social representational field elaborated among women. Aspects of the representational field were elicited depending on self/other relations and diverging emancipated and polemic representations in response to institutional messaging.