What you need to know about whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy

With the recent news of whooping cough cases on the rise, you may be wondering what you can do to protect your baby, or how to spot the signs of infection.

When your baby is ill it can be very worrying, and if your little one is coughing, especially when you know infections are on the increase, you'll want to know how you can diagnose it, treat it and when you need to go to the doctor. Alternatively, maybe you've heard of whooping cough and you want to prevent your baby from getting it. Or maybe you've heard about the whooping cough immunization that women can have during pregnancy and want to find out more about that.

We'll cover all of the above here so that you know exactly what whooping cough is, what to do about it, and all about prevention – Plus, info on the whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women: what it is, how it works to protect your baby, and how safe and effective it is.

What is whooping cough?

If it’s whooping cough a baby is suffering from, they're likely to have a persistent, dry cough which is hard to shift. According to the NHS whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily, and can sometimes cause serious problems.

Whooping cough can trigger fits of coughing several times a day and even coughing at nightevery few hours, which can result in interrupted sleep.

The bacterial infection sits in the lungs and tends to have peaks every few years. It can be passed from person to person through droplets in the air from coughing and sneezing, so it's likely that your little one will catch it if someone nearby is infected. It's important to take whooping cough seriously as it can make young babies very ill, some even have to be hospitalised. There is also the risk of death if your baby gets whooping cough.

How to protect babies from whooping cough

Babies should receive a vaccination against whooping cough – which is also known as pertussis – when they are eight, 12 and 16 weeks old. However, this does leave a window of opportunity for the infection to reach the baby from the time they are born up to eight weeks of age. There is also a whooping cough vaccine which you can have during pregnancy, to protect your baby from birth.

Whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy

If you’re pregnant you can get vaccinated for whooping cough. The antibodies in the injection pass from your blood stream, through the placenta and into your baby. This will provide protection for them in the window between when they're born and they're first vaccination at eight weeks.

The vaccine you'll be given is called Boostrix IPV and protects against:

It's similar to the pre-school booster that's routinely given to children before starting school.

Is the whooping cough vaccine safe for pregnant women?

if you're feeling worried about the vaccine, the NHS says: "There's no evidence to suggest that the whooping cough vaccine is unsafe for you or your unborn baby", and that "Pertussis-containing vaccine (whooping cough vaccine) has been used routinely in pregnant women in the UK since October 2012, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is carefully monitoring its safety." As well as this, they say: "The MHRA's study of around 20,000 vaccinated women published in the British Medical Journal found no evidence of risks to pregnancy or babies."

Further reassurance comes from published research that shows that vaccinating pregnant women is highly effective for the protection of babies up to eight weeks of age. In fact, the NHS says: "Babies born to women vaccinated at least a week before birth had a 91% reduced risk of becoming ill with whooping cough in their first weeks of life, compared to babies whose mothers had not been vaccinated."

Are there any side effects from the whooping cough vaccine?

Side effects you may experience after having the whooping cough jab during pregnancy may include:

There is no need to be concerned though, as according to the NHS serious side effects are extremely rare.

When should I have the whooping cough jab during pregnancy?

The best time for you to have the vaccination and maximise the chance of protection from birth for your unborn baby is between 12 weeks and 32 weeks of pregnancy. Don't worry if you have missed this window though, as it's possible to still have it all the way up until you go into labour, although your baby will be less likely to receive the protection from your antibodies the later you have it. It's still worth having the vaccine even at this later stage though, as it will protect you from whooping cough so that there's no risk of you passing it onto your child when they're born

Whooping cough symptoms

The illness starts with a cold and cough. It’s not usually until the distinctive whooping noise develops that your baby will be diagnosed as having the infection. "The sound is created because your baby takes a deep, wheezy intake of breath after a prolonged bout of coughing," says Dr David Elliman from the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health via BBC. "He may also have a temperature and vomit afterwards."

In some cases, the force of the coughing can cause a blood vessel to burst in your baby’s eye, which will appear red and bloodshot. While rare, in serious cases whooping cough can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain due to lack of oxygen and even death. For these reasons it's important to establish protection early on.

According to the NHS after about a week, if you or your child have whooping cough you'll start to experience coughing bouts that last for a few minutes. These episodes will get worse at night, as coughs symptoms tend to do. Tell-tale signs include a "whoop" sound, which is like a gasp of breath between coughs, but this isn't always present, especially in young babies. There may also be some difficulty breathing after a bout of coughing, and young infants may even turn blue or grey, which might be worrying. Adults are more likely to get red in the face. You or your child may also bring up thick mucus or vomit. Symptoms are likely to last for several weeks or months.

If you have whooping cough, as an adult you may experience sore ribs from the coughing, a hernia, middle ear infections or urinary incontinence, says the NHS. Babies under 6 months are more likely to become dehydrated, have difficulty breathing, develop pneumonia or have seizures.

What can you do if your baby has whooping cough?

If you have already had your baby and they catch whooping cough, call your GP for advice and whooping cough treatment.

"He may prescribe antibiotics, which won’t necessarily reduce the length of illness, but it can stop your baby from being infectious," says David.

To make your baby feel more comfortable at home, ensure they have plenty of rest and fluids to prevent dehydration. Infant paracetamol can also help relieve high temperature and sore throat. Babies under 12 months will be admitted to hospital and treated in isolation with antibiotics and corticosteroid medication to reduce inflammation in the airways. Older toddlers and children can be treated at home – just make sure they get plenty of rest and fluids.

Call your GP if...

If coughing is causing your baby’s face to drain of colour and give his lips a blue tinge. "It’s a sign that he’s not taking on enough oxygen, which can be dangerous," says David. "If your baby is off his feeds and hasn’t produced a wet nappy in over 12 hours, you should also contact your doctor."

About the Expert

Acording to Gov.uk: "David is a clinical advisor to the UK NSC and is the current clinical lead to the NHS Newborn Blood Spot Screening Programme and the NHS Newborn and Physical Examination Programme. David is a semi-retired community paediatrician whose main interest is prevention, including by screening and vaccination. He has been involved in the former for over 20 years, at a national level."

Proud aunt to her teen niece, Zara Mohammedis a Digital Writer for Mother&Baby. She has 10 years freelance writing experience creating lifestyle content for various platforms, including pregnancy, women’s health, parenting, child development and child mental health, plus lots of fun seasonal family articles and celebrity news.