Key points
- Whooping cough is a serious disease that can be deadly for young babies.
- Pregnant people can give their babies protection against whooping cough (pertussis) before their little ones are even born.
- Getting a whooping cough vaccine called Tdap during pregnancy helps protect mother and baby.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about getting Tdap during your third trimester of pregnancy.
Overview
In 2012, CDC first began recommending the use of Tdap during pregnancy to help protect the youngest of babies.
Doctors and midwives who specialize in caring for pregnant people agree that getting Tdap during pregnancy:
- Is important
- Helps safely protect mothers and babies
Pediatric and family doctors also support the use of Tdap during pregnancy to provide protection to babies.
The following medical associations dedicated to the health of pregnant people or children support this recommendation:
Why the vaccine is important
Whooping cough is a serious disease that can be deadly for babies. Unfortunately, babies don't start building their own protection against whooping cough until they get vaccinated at two months old. This leaves babies unprotected in the first months of life when they're at highest risk of
- Getting whooping cough
- Having severe, possibly life-threatening complications from whooping cough
Passing protection to baby
After receiving Tdap, a pregnant person's body creates protective antibodies and passes high levels of them to the baby before birth. These antibodies provide the baby with some short-term protection against whooping cough in early life. They can protect the baby from some of the serious complications of whooping cough.
Who should receive the vaccine and when
CDC recommends that pregnant people get Tdap during the 27th through 36th week of each pregnancy, preferably during the earlier part of this time period. It doesn't matter when someone got their last tetanus vaccine (Td or Tdap).
Protecting baby from whooping cough
Vaccination in every pregnancy offers best protection
Protective antibodies against whooping cough peak about 2 weeks after getting vaccinated with Tdap. However, it takes time to pass them to the baby. The amount of whooping cough antibodies in the pregnant person's body also decreases over time. That's why CDC recommends getting Tdap early in the third trimester of each pregnancy. This is true even if pregnancies are only a year or two apart. Doing so allows each baby to get the greatest number of protective antibodies and best protection possible against whooping cough.
Vaccination after delivery leaves baby without protective antibodies
When the mother doesn't get Tdap during pregnancy and has never received it before, she can get it after the baby is born. Once the mother develops antibodies after vaccination—about 2 weeks—spreading whooping cough to their newborn is less likely. However, the baby will still be at risk for catching whooping cough from others.
Breastfeeding may pass some protective antibodies onto baby
Mothers can pass some whooping cough antibodies to their babies by breastfeeding. By getting Tdap during pregnancy, women will have these antibodies in their breast milk as soon as their milk comes in. However, their baby will not get protective antibodies immediately if they wait until their baby is born to get vaccinated.
Safety and effectiveness
Safety
Tdap is very safe for pregnant women and their babies. Getting vaccinated during pregnancy won't increase risk for pregnancy complications. None of the whooping cough vaccines (Tdap and DTaP) currently used in the United States contain thimerosal.
Multiple safety systems monitor Tdap vaccination in pregnancy:
- Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
- Manufacturer pregnancy registries
- Sanofi Pasteur for Adacel®
- GlaxoSmithKline for Boostrix®
- Sanofi Pasteur for Adacel®
Tdap has decade-long track record of safety during pregnancy
How well it works
Many studies have looked at how well Tdap vaccination during pregnancy protects young babies. These studies have found that babies whose mothers get Tdap during pregnancy are less likely to get whooping cough.
For example, a CDC evaluation found Tdap vaccination during the third trimester of pregnancy is effective. These data show it prevents more than 3 in 4 cases of whooping cough in babies younger than 2 months old.
Another CDC study shows that newborn rates of whooping cough greatly decreased since Tdap was first recommended during pregnancy.
Protecting babies from serious complications
For babies who do get whooping cough, the infection is typically less serious if their mother received Tdap during pregnancy. The same evaluation found Tdap vaccination during the third trimester of pregnancy protected 9 in 10 babies from serious infections that need treatment in a hospital.
A study in California looked at the type and length of hospital stays for babies with whooping cough. Babies whose mothers received Tdap during pregnancy
- Were less likely to need care in a hospital or intensive care unit
- Had shorter hospital stays
Possible side effects
Most side effects from Tdap are mild and don't affect daily activities. They also get better on their own in a few days.
The most common side effects from Tdap include reactions where the vaccine provider gave the shot:
- Pain
- Redness
- Swelling
Severe side effects are extremely rare.
Tdap can't give someone whooping cough
Tdap can't give someone whooping cough since the vaccine doesn't contain any live bacteria. Whooping cough vaccines used in the United States contain inactivated parts of the bacteria that cause whooping cough.
Where to get the vaccine
Tdap vaccines may be available at
- Obstetrician-gynecologist and midwife offices
- Primary care offices
- Pharmacies
- Health departments
- Community health clinics
You can also contact your local or state health department to learn more about where to get Tdap in your community.