Midwives and other healthcare professionals have a vital role in improving uptake of pregnancy vaccination, according to a new survey from the UK Health Security Agency 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 nine in ten 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.
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.
Dr Helen Campbell, Lead Scientist at UKHSA