Vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) is offered to pregnant women to help protect their baby against whooping cough. Getting vaccinated will protect a baby from birth, before they start their routine childhood immunisations.
It's important a mother gets the whooping cough vaccine as soon as possible from week 16 of her pregnancy. This will protect a mother against whooping cough, and protect her baby from getting it in their first weeks of life.
The whooping cough vaccine is recommended every time a mother is pregnant, even if they’ve had the vaccine before. A patient’s community midwife will discuss vaccination against pertussis with the patient.
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