‘Vaccination is the best way you can protect your child in those first few weeks’
A public health midwife in East Yorkshire is encouraging pregnant women to get the whooping cough vaccine. It comes after the tragic death of a baby.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that a baby died between January and June of this year. It is the first fatal case of whooping cough in the UK this year, it said.
Now, Joanna Melia, public health midwife at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital has spoken about the ‘personal tragedy for the family’. She said: “It very sadly shows the very real consequences of not getting vaccinated during pregnancy.”
She continued: “Whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the lungs and airways which can be so serious in infants, as this case shows. The whooping cough vaccine has been given in pregnancy in the UK as a matter of routine since October 2012 and a study of around 20,000 vaccinated women found no evidence of risks to pregnancy or unborn babies. In fact, rather than putting your baby at risk, vaccination is the best way you can protect your child in those first few weeks.”
According to the NHS, whooping cough is a serious infection causing long bouts of coughing and choking, making it hard to breathe. The ‘whoop’ is caused by gasping for breath after each bout of coughing, though babies do not always make this noise.
Research into the deaths of 32 babies who tragically died from whooping cough between 2013 and 2025 showed 26 had mothers who hadn’t received the vaccine in pregnancy, the NHS Humber Health Partnership said. Eleven babies died of whooping cough last year and this case, announced at the weekend by the UKHSA, is the first this year.
Pregnant women should have the whooping cough vaccine around the time of your mid-pregnancy scan, usually at 20 weeks pregnant. However, you can have it from 16 weeks and you should get vaccinated before 32 weeks.
A midwife will book the vaccination appointment. It will be at one of the clinics at East Riding Community Hospital in Beverley, Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham and at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, UKHSA deputy director, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family who have so tragically lost their baby. Ensuring women are vaccinated in pregnancy has never been more important.
“It is vital that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time, ideally between 20 and 32 weeks. This passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth.
“We want to ensure every expectant mother is offered the vaccine at the optimal time and understands that this vaccine is the best way to protect their baby during those crucial first weeks after birth. If you are pregnant and approaching 20 weeks, and haven’t been offered the whooping cough vaccine, please speak to your GP or midwife today to find out how you can get your vaccine.”