Vaccinations for pregnant women

Ask your GP or maternity service about the vaccines that are available to you during your pregnancy. 

Whooping cough
Seasonal flu
COVID-19
RSV

Contact information for your local maternity service

East and North Hertfordshire (The Lister Hospital): 0143 828 4124

West Essex (The Princess Alexandra Hospital): 0127 982 7286 

South and West Hertfordshire (Watford General Hospital): 0192 321 7343

Some vaccinations are recommended during pregnancy to protect the health of both the mother and baby. There are currently four vaccinations that are routinely offered to pregnant women, and these are:

  • Whooping cough vaccine (also called pertussis)

  • Seasonal flu vaccine

  • Covid-19 vaccine

  • Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine

These vaccinations may be offered to pregnant women by their GP, maternity serivce or in some cases, such as seasonal flu, a local pharmacist. Pregnant women should contact their GP in the first instance if they have not been offered one or more of these vaccinations to enquire about when and where to access them. 

To learn more about each vaccination, including when these should be offered, please refer to the drop down options below or listen to local midwife Katy, who tells us more about why vaccinations for you and your baby are important.

Whooping cough can be a very serious infection, and young babies are most at risk of serious illness if they catch it.

The whooping cough vaccine is usually offered to pregnant women from 20 weeks of pregnancy, but you can have it from 16 weeks. The antibodies that the mother produces from the vaccine will pass on to the unborn baby, giving them high levels of protection against serious whooping cough illness, until they are able to have their own whooping cough vaccine at 8 weeks old. 

To give unborn babies the best protection against whooping cough, pregnant women should have the vaccine before 32 weeks of pregnancy. If for any reason a pregnant women misses having the vaccine before 32 weeks, they can still have it later.

For more information about the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy, please visit Whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy - NHS

During pregnancy, your immune system (the body's natural defence) is weakened to protect the pregnancy. This can mean you're less able to fight off infections such as flu.

Pregnant women are more likely to get flu complications (such as pneumonia) than women who are not pregnant, and are more likely to be admitted to hospital. Having the flu vaccine means you're less likely to get flu, or if you do catch flu, it is less likely to be severe.

A pregnant woman can receive the vaccine at any stage of her pregnancy, but it is better to receive it as early as possible in the flu season to ensure maximum protection. Vaccinations are usually available from September to March. 

For more information, please visit The flu jab in pregnancy - NHS

If you're pregnant, or think you might be, it's recommended you get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect you and your baby.

You're at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 if you're pregnant. If you get COVID-19 late in your pregnancy, your baby could also be at risk.

It's safe to have the vaccine during any stage of pregnancy, from the first few weeks up to your expected due date.

The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any live viruses and cannot give you or your baby COVID-19.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is seasonal and runs usually from September to March. Please contact your GP or local pharmacy to make an appointment. 

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit Pregnancy, breastfeeding, fertility and COVID-19 vaccination - NHS

 

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that causes coughs and colds. RSV usually gets better by itself, but it can be serious for babies.

When you have the RSV vaccine in pregnancy, the protection from the vaccine is passed to your baby. This means your baby is less likely to get severe RSV for the first 6 months after they're born.

For more information about the RSV vaccine, visit RSV vaccine - NHS

 

Some vaccines, such as the inactivated seasonal flu vaccine and the whooping cough vaccine, are recommended during pregnancy to protect the health of you and your baby. An inactivated vaccine does not contain a live version of the virus it is protecting against.

Some vaccines, such as the tetanus vaccine, are perfectly safe to have during pregnancy if necessary.

But it does depend on the type of vaccination. For example, the MMR and yellow fever vaccines have potential risks, and you need to discuss these with your midwife or doctor before deciding whether to have the vaccine.

Vaccines not usually advised in pregnancy (live vaccines)

If a vaccine uses a live version of the virus, such as the MMR vaccine, you'll usually be advised to wait until after your baby is born before you get vaccinated.

This is because there's a potential risk that live vaccines could cause your unborn baby to become infected. But there's no evidence that any live vaccine causes birth defects.

Sometimes, a live vaccine may be used during pregnancy if the risk of infection is greater than the risk of the vaccination. Your midwife, GP or pharmacist can give you more advice about vaccinations during pregnancy.

Live vaccines include:

  • BCG (vaccination against tuberculosis)
  • MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
  • oral polio (which forms part of the 6-in-1 vaccine given to infants)
  • oral typhoid
  • yellow fever

For more information, please visit Vaccinations in pregnancy - NHS

When you have vaccinations during pregnancy, you will pass protection (immunity) to your unborn baby which helps to protect them in their first few months of life. The vaccinations your baby has at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age help to make sure this protection continues.

For the full childhood vaccination schedule, please visit Childhood Vaccinations.