Midwives and other healthcare professionals have a vital role in
improving uptake of pregnancy vaccination. This is according to a
new survey from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in which pregnant women
and women who recently gave birth rank them as their most trusted
source of information. Over 60% of the women surveyed, who had
been or intended to be vaccinated, said that being advised to
have any of the pregnancy vaccines by a healthcare professional
was an important reason for taking up the offer.
The findings highlight the importance of conversations with
trusted healthcare professionals. While around 40% of women who
had a discussion with a healthcare professional said they were
already going to have the vaccine, an additional 40% said they
felt more confident about having a pregnancy vaccine following
the discussion, underpinning the importance of those
conversations.
Nine in ten (91%) pregnant women recall hearing about vaccines
during pregnancy and most of the 800 women (86%) who took part in
the survey had seen or heard something that made them feel it was
important to have pregnancy vaccines.
Healthcare professionals remain the most influential voices, with
midwives and NHS channels still the top sources of trusted
information and among those who had at least one pregnancy
vaccine, 85% said it was easy to access.
Most pregnant women in the UK will be offered three vaccines
during pregnancy. The whooping cough and RSV vaccines are given to
help protect the newborn baby from serious illness during those
vulnerable first few months of life. The flu vaccine is also
offered in the winter months to help provide important protection
against serious disease for both the mother and baby.
While pertussis cases are currently low, it can cause serious
illness for infants and in 2024, 11 infants sadly died.
Vaccinating in pregnancy is the best way to help protect the baby
in those vital first few months of life.
Protecting newborns against these vaccine-preventable diseases
remains as important as ever. Awareness is high with around 9 in
10 of women understanding that the diseases pregnancy vaccines
protect against could be serious if their babies caught them.
However, this still leaves around one in ten unaware of the
potential severity of infections such as flu, RSV and whooping cough.
UKHSA urges
pregnant women to have those discussions with their midwife, GP
or nurse to ensure they feel informed and confident they are
taking the right steps to help protect their newborn.
The most recent uptake data shows that of women who gave birth in
September 2025, 59.9% received the RSV vaccine and 72% received
the whooping cough vaccine.
Dr , Lead Scientist at
UKHSA, said:
These findings highlight again just how important midwives and
other healthcare professionals are in supporting women to feel
informed and confident about vaccination. While RSV, flu and whooping cough
can cause serious illness, they are vaccine-preventable which is
why it's so important to help protect young babies through
pregnancy vaccines. Pregnancy naturally brings questions and it's
reassuring that women continue to rely on trusted healthcare
professionals and NHS resources when making decisions for their
baby.
The vaccines offered during pregnancy provide the best protection
for newborns at a time when they are most vulnerable. If you're
pregnant and haven't yet been offered any of these vaccines,
contact your midwife or GP surgery. Your midwife is there to
answer any questions you may have and help you feel confident
you're making the right decision for your baby.
