Pregnancy and vaccinations

There are currently 3 vaccines recommended during your pregnancy.

The vaccines are free and include:

• influenza vaccine, given at any time while you are pregnant
• diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis or whooping cough vaccine (also known as dTpa) , a 3-in-1 vaccine given from 20 weeks of pregnancy
• respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, given between 28 and 36 weeks gestation.

Young babies are more at risk of severe disease.

When you get vaccinated during pregnancy, your body produces antibodies.

These antibodies are passed to your baby, helping protect them from serious illnesses.

This protection lasts through their first few months of life when they are too young to be vaccinated.

Vaccines for your family

It’s recommended that family members and visitors are vaccinated to protect your baby when they’re born.

This includes:

• diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (dTpa) vaccine booster, if they haven’t had it in the last 10 years (this vaccine takes 2 weeks to be effective)
• annual influenza vaccine, which also takes 2 weeks for the protection to start
• COVID-19 vaccine and any boosters - where recommended.