Pregnant women urged to get whooping cough jab

The vaccine against whooping cough will be provided to mums between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy

Pregnant women in Wolverhampton are being urged to vaccinate against whooping cough as cases nationally rise to more than 10,000 including nine infant deaths since January.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes that can cause serious problems in babies and young children.

Wolverhampton City Council said it would provide the vaccination for free to mums between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy to pass immunity to their babies.

Jasbir Jaspal, city councillor for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “Anyone can catch whooping cough, but the infection can be very serious in young children and babies.”

Early symptoms are similar to a cold but can last up to two weeks before developing into long bursts of severe coughing and choking, resulting in the distinctive “whooping” sound.

Complications in infants can include dehydration, weight loss due to repeated vomiting, pneumonia and seizures.

The vaccine for pregnant women is designed to protect the baby until they are old enough to receive it as part of the six in one combination vaccine at eight, 12 and 16 weeks, which also protects against diphtheria, hepatitis B, hib, polio and tetanus.