Whooping cough (also called pertussis) is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs and airways. In adults and children, it causes intense bouts of coughing that may be followed by a “whoop” as the person gasps for breath. Very young babies are less likely to cough, but there may be periods when they stop breathing. In England in 2024, 11 babies died of whooping cough.  

Babies receive their first dose of whooping cough vaccine at eight weeks old and should have completed the first course of whooping cough vaccination by the time they are 16 weeks old. Babies who have not yet completed their first course of vaccinations have little protection against whooping cough.  

Having a whooping cough vaccine while you are pregnant protects your baby against whooping cough until they are old enough to have their own vaccinations. When you are vaccinated, your immune system makes antibodies that protect you against whooping cough. These antibodies cross the placenta and also protect your baby. 

You will usually be offered the whooping cough vaccine when you are 20 weeks pregnant, but you can have it from 16 weeks. Getting vaccinated before 32 weeks gives your baby the best protection against whooping cough, but if you do not manage to get the whooping cough vaccine before 32 weeks, you can still have it later. 

You can have the whooping cough vaccine at the same time as your other pregnancy vaccines, such as flu and RSV, but it’s best to get your vaccine as soon as you are offered it.   

In many areas, your vaccine will be given by your GP practice. However, some hospitals have now set up special 'vaccination clinics' so you can receive your vaccine when attending your routine antenatal appointments. If they have a vaccination clinic at your booking hospital, your midwife will discuss this with you at one of your appointments. 

You can also ask your midwife about the whooping cough vaccine at any of your appointments or contact your GP yourself if you haven’t heard from them. 

You may have had the whooping cough vaccine as a child, or in a previous pregnancy, but you should still be vaccinated in this pregnancy. Over time the level of protective antibodies in your blood goes down, and when they are too low, not enough can cross the placenta to protect your baby. Getting re-vaccinated against whooping cough in every pregnancy maximises protection for your baby. 

Yes. The vaccination you have while you are pregnant will protect your baby from whooping cough for the first few months of their life, but your baby still needs to receive their own course of whooping cough vaccines (at 8, 12 and 16 weeks) to be protected against whooping cough as they get older. 

We know the whooping cough vaccine works because studies have shown that babies born to vaccinated mothers are much less likely to catch the disease in their first few weeks of life.

In studies including more than 800,000 babies, vaccination reduced babies’ chance of catching whooping cough by between 46 and 93% and the chance of babies being admitted to hospital by between 66 and 94%. 

To make sure the whooping cough vaccine is safe for you and your baby, researchers have carried out large studies involving hundreds of thousands of people vaccinated during pregnancy.

In 14 studies looking at the health of more than 300,000 people vaccinated during pregnancy, and their babies, the whooping cough vaccine did not increase the chance of pregnancy loss, pregnancy problems or health problems for babies. 

Like all medicines, vaccines can cause side effects, but not everyone will experience them. Common side effects of the whooping cough vaccine (affecting more than 1 in 10 people) are: 

• Pain, redness or swelling at the site of the injection 

• Headache 

• Aching all over the body 

• Tiredness or weakness 

• Feeling unwell 

• Diarrhoea   

Side effects affecting up to 1 in 10 people are: 

• Nausea, vomiting 

• Rash 

• Aching or swollen joints 

• Shivering 

• A high temperature 

• Swelling in the armpit (lymph nodes) 

These side effects may be unpleasant if you experience them, but it is important to know that they are not dangerous for you or your baby, and having any of these does not mean that you have caught whooping cough. These side effects can be managed with paracetamol and usually go away within 1-2 days. 

Most people who are offered the whooping cough vaccine can have it. The only people who should not have the whooping cough vaccine are those who have had a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to a previous dose of a diphtheria, tetanus, polio or pertussis containing vaccine. 

The whooping cough vaccine is only available in combination with other vaccines. The vaccine usually offered in pregnancy is called Adacel. Adacel is a 3-in-1 vaccine against whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria.  

The most important ingredients are inactivated pieces of the whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria bacteria. Because these are only small, inactive pieces of bacteria, the vaccine cannot cause an infection but still allows your immune system to learn what the bacteria looks like and make antibodies against it. These antibodies cross the placenta to protect your baby. 

The other ingredients are: 

• Water 

• Aluminium phosphate, used to increase the immune response to the vaccine (an adjuvant) 

• Phenoxyethanol, used as a preservative 

If you have a latex allergy, or in the unlikely event that Adacel is unavailable, you may be offered an alternative brand of whooping cough vaccine. In this case, ask the person vaccinating you for the ingredients list of the vaccine you are being offered.

The whooping cough vaccine usually offered in pregnancy is called Adacel. Adacel does not contain any animal products. 

If you have a latex allergy, or in the unlikely event that Adacel is unavailable, you may be offered an alternative brand of whooping cough vaccine. Some alternative brands may contain trace amounts of animal products left over from the manufacturing process. Talk to your doctor or midwife for more information about the brand you are being offered.

The vaccine usually offered in pregnancy is called Adacel. Like all vaccines routinely offered in the UK, Adacel does not contain mercury.