Talk to your doctor about getting vaccinated.
Your child’s pediatrician will vaccinate your baby against pertussis, also known as whooping cough, but your baby isn’t fully protected from the disease until the third or fourth dose, when they’re as old as 18 months of age. That’s why you need to see your own doctor about getting vaccinated, too.
Here are some questions you may want to ask your doctor to help you learn more about protecting your baby from pertussis. Print them out and bring them with you to your next appointment.
- How will getting an adult pertussis booster, also known as tetanus, diptheria, and pertussus (Tdap), help protect my baby from pertussis?
- Do I need the adult pertussis booster?
- If I got vaccinated when I was a child, why do I need this again as an adult?
- Who else should get vaccinated to help protect my baby from pertussis?
- Are there any other steps I should take to protect my baby from pertussis?
