Pertussis (also called whooping cough) is a highly contagious disease that causes severe coughing. In newborns, pertussis can be a life-threatening illness. It can be prevented with a vaccine called the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.
If you have never received a Tdap vaccine before, you should receive it late in your second trimester (ie, after 20 weeks of gestation) or third trimester of pregnancy. The Tdap vaccine is an effective and safe way to protect you and your baby from serious illness and complications of pertussis.
Infants are at risk of getting pertussis until they can be vaccinated at 2 months of age.