Act now to protect your baby against whooping cough from birth.

Whooping cough (pertussis) can be serious for babies and may lead to complications, resulting in hospitalisation and even death. You can help protect your baby against whooping cough in their first weeks by having the whooping cough vaccine while pregnant.

The whooping cough vaccine is usually offered around the time of your mid pregnancy scan (around 20 weeks) but you can have it from 16 weeks. Vaccination in pregnancy provides very high levels of protection against serious whooping cough disease until your baby can have their own vaccination at 8 weeks of age. You will need to have the whooping cough vaccine in every pregnancy to boost the antibody you pass on to you baby. You should have the vaccine even if you have had it during a previous pregnancy. Your baby will still need their routine immunisations from 8 weeks of age.

Studies from the UK and other countries have shown that the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy is very safe and effective for you and your baby. If you have reached 20 weeks of pregnancy and not been offered the whooping cough vaccine, talk to your midwife or GP practice to make an appointment to get vaccinated.

What is Whooping cough (pertussis)?

Whooping cough (also known as pertussis) is an infection that causes long bursts of coughing and choking, making it hard to breathe. The ‘whoop’ noise is caused by gasping for breath after each burst of coughing. Young babies don’t always do this which can make it difficult to recognise the disease. Whooping cough often lasts for 2 to 4 months. Babies under 1 year of age are most at risk from whooping cough. For these babies, the disease can be very serious and may lead to pneumonia and permanent brain damage. In the worst cases, it can cause death.

For more information you can visit the Gov.uk website by following this link Whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)