Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease that can be very serious for babies under 1 year of age. Around 300 babies are admitted to hospital every year with whooping cough. It can lead to pneumonia, brain damage and in some cases death for those very young babies.
How to book your Pertussis vaccine
If you are a pregnant patient under our care, you are able to refer yourself to have your vaccinations at Darent Valley Hospital. This can be done by completing our online booking form. Alternatively, please contact your GP.
Getting vaccinated in pregnancy is a highly effective way of protecting your baby against whooping cough during the first few weeks of life.
The immunity produced by the vaccine, passes through the placenta to your baby and offers passive protection until your baby is old enough to be routinely vaccinated at 8 weeks old.
An additional benefit is that the protection the mother receives from the vaccination lowers her chances of developing the condition and thus lessens the risk of passing it onto her newborn baby.
You will normally receive your whooping cough vaccine around the time of your mid-pregnancy scan (usually 20 weeks) but you can receive it from 16 weeks.
To give your baby the best protection, you should try and get the vaccine before you are 32 weeks pregnant.
The pertussis vaccine has been routinely offered to pregnant women since 2012. Research findings involving over 20,000 vaccinated pregnant women has provided no evidence to suggest that this vaccine is unsafe for you or your baby.
You can talk to your midwife or GP practice OR you can read this leaflet online here: Whooping Cough and Pregnancy: protect your baby with the vaccine - Health Publications