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Download the NHS App or open the NHS website up and login to access a range of NHS services online.

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The NHS App lets you book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access a range of other healthcare services.

The NHS App is for people aged 13 and over who are registered with a connected GP surgery.

You can use some of the app's features without your GP surgery being connected.

95% of surgeries are now connected to the NHS App.

With the NHS App you can:

* check your symptoms - find reliable NHS information on hundreds of conditions and treatments, and get immediate advice

* book appointments - search for, book and cancel appointments at your GP surgery

* order repeat prescriptions - see your available medications and request a new repeat prescription

* view your medical record - get secure access to your GP medical record

* register to be an organ donor - easily manage your preferences on the NHS Organ Donor Register

* choose how the NHS uses your data - register your decision on whether it can be used for research and planning

Report an issue

You can contact the NHS App team directly to report any issue or if you have any questions about this product.

Please share the details through our contact form for our records.

The NHS App is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.

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The NHS App lets you book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access a range of other healthcare services. The NHS App is for people aged 13 and over who are registered with a connected GP surgery. You can use some of the app's features without your GP surgery being connected.

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A new App has been launched to help women access clear and helpful advice on women's, maternity and baby's health.

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Free NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s Health and Maternity APP. launched.

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A new APP has been launched to help women access clear and helpful advice on women’s, maternity and baby’s health. Developed with input from national and local clinicians and service users, the APP has been created to improve access to timely, high-quality evidence-based, clinically safe, non-profiteering, information, services, and treatment, specific to women’s health, including where to access support across Cheshire and Merseyside.

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Resources to help you and your baby through pregnancy

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Resources to help you and your baby through pregnancy

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Click the link above to access all our pregnancy resources

In this section

-Finding out you are pregnant

-Your pregnancy care

-Antenatal Classes

-Preparing for Labour & Birth

-Screening tests and scans offered

-Vaccinations in Pregnancy

-Mental well being

-Support to stop smoking and drinking alcohol

-Keeping fit and active during pregnancy

-Having more than one baby

-Pregnancy complications

-Benefits available

-Useful Apps

-Support services and organisations

-Giving feedback about your care

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This link takes you to information on Cestrian ward, going home after birth, maternity postpartum health, and caring for your baby.

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A free NHS health app for parents and carers of children from pregnancy to age 5.

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CATCH eases the sense of information overload, particularly regarding pregnancy and children's health. With the number of resources available, it can be difficult to know who to trust. CATCH provides local NHS-approved information with your best interests at heart, so you won't need to look elsewhere.

All of the information provided by CATCH comes from NHS-approved sources and has been reviewed by health professionals from your area.

You will regularly receive health advice tailored to your child's age as they grow.

We only ask for the first part of your postcode to identify your local health authority. We never store any of your personal data in the cloud.

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CATCH - Common Approach To Children's Health

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CATCH eases the sense of information overload, particularly regarding pregnancy and children's health. With the number of resources available, it can be difficult to know who to trust. CATCH provides local NHS-approved information with your best interests at heart, so you won't need to look elsewhere.

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Some vaccines, such as the inactivated seasonal flu vaccine and the whooping cough vaccine, are recommended during pregnancy to protect the health of you and your baby.

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Some vaccines, such as the inactivated seasonal flu vaccine and the whooping cough vaccine, are recommended during pregnancy to protect the health of you and your baby. An inactivated vaccine does not contain a live version of the virus it is protecting against.

Some vaccines, such as the tetanus vaccine, are perfectly safe to have during pregnancy if necessary.

But it does depend on the type of vaccination. For example, the MMR and yellow fever vaccines have potential risks, and you need to discuss these with your midwife or doctor before deciding whether to have the vaccine.

Vaccines not usually advised in pregnancy (live vaccines)

If a vaccine uses a live version of the virus, such as the MMR vaccine, you'll usually be advised to wait until after your baby is born before you get vaccinated.

This is because there's a potential risk that live vaccines could cause your unborn baby to become infected. But there's no evidence that any live vaccine causes birth defects.

Sometimes, a live vaccine may be used during pregnancy if the risk of infection is greater than the risk of the vaccination. Your midwife, GP or pharmacist can give you more advice about vaccinations during pregnancy.

Live vaccines include:

BCG (vaccination against tuberculosis)

MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)

oral polio (which forms part of the 6-in-1 vaccine given to infants)

oral typhoid

yellow fever

Vaccines recommended in pregnancy

Flu

During pregnancy, your immune system (the body's natural defence) is weakened to protect the pregnancy. This can mean you're less able to fight off infections. As the baby grows, you may be unable to breathe as deeply, increasing the risk of infections such as pneumonia.

These changes can raise the risk from flu - pregnant women are more likely to get flu complications than women who are not pregnant and are more likely to be admitted to hospital. Having the flu vaccine means you're less likely to get flu.
Find out more about the flu jab in pregnancy
Whooping cough

Whooping cough is a very serious infection, and young babies are most at risk. Most babies with whooping cough will be admitted to hospital.

When you have the whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy, your body produces antibodies to protect against whooping cough. These antibodies pass to your baby giving them some protection until they're able to have their whooping cough vaccination at 8 weeks old.
Find out more about the whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine

If you're pregnant, or think you might be, it's strongly recommended you get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect you and your baby.

You're at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 if you're pregnant. If you get COVID-19 late in your pregnancy, your baby could also be at risk.

It's safe to have the vaccine during any stage of pregnancy, from the first few weeks up to your expected due date. You do not need to delay vaccination until after you have given birth.

The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any live viruses and cannot give you or your baby COVID-19.

You can book your vaccination appointment online.
Find out more about pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccination

Travel vaccines in pregnancy

When you're pregnant, it's best to avoid visiting countries or areas where travel vaccinations are required.
See the TravelHealthPro website for information and advice about travel vaccinations for different countries
It may not always be possible to avoid areas that require vaccinations when you're pregnant. If this is the case, talk to a midwife or GP, who can tell you about the risks and benefits of any vaccinations you might need.

If there's a high risk of infection in the area you are travelling to, it's often safer to have a vaccine rather than travel unprotected as most diseases will be more harmful to your baby than a vaccine.

For example, yellow fever is a virus spread by mosquitoes. Most people who get severe yellow fever die from it. The yellow fever vaccine is a live vaccine, but it may be considered necessary to have the vaccination if you're travelling to areas where yellow fever is common because the risks of yellow fever are so high.

Pregnancy and malaria

Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to malaria. This is a serious condition which, if severe, can be fatal for both a mother and her baby. Malaria mainly affects countries in:

Africa

South America and Central America

Asia

the Middle East

If possible, avoid travelling in these areas if you are pregnant. However, if you're unable to postpone or cancel your trip, preventative treatment is available. This involves taking antimalarial medicine tablets to reduce your risk of getting malaria.

The antimalarial medicine you take may depend on which country you're travelling to, your stage of pregnancy and whether you have any other pre-existing medical conditions. In some areas certain antimalarial medicines do not work because the malaria parasite has developed resistance to them.

Some antimalarial medicines are known to affect the developing baby. For example, doxycycline can cause the baby's milk teeth to be discoloured if a pregnant woman takes it after the first 12 or 13 weeks of pregnancy.

Other antimalarial medicines have not been studied sufficiently and more research on their use in pregnancy is needed. But the risk of harm to you and your baby from malaria is likely to be much greater than any potential risk from taking antimalarial medicine.
See the bumps website for more information about malaria and antimalarial medicines and their use in pregnancy
Protecting yourself against malaria

If you're pregnant, make sure you take precautions against being bitten by insects. For example:

use a mosquito repellent that's specifically recommended for use in pregnancy

wear a long-sleeved top, full-length trousers and socks to cover up your skin from dusk until dawn

always sleep under a mosquito net

Find maternity services near you

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Some vaccines, such as the inactivated seasonal flu vaccine and the whooping cough vaccine, are recommended during pregnancy to protect the health of you and your baby. An inactivated vaccine does not contain a live version of the virus it is protecting against.

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Click the link below to access all our resources about support in the postnatal period

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Click the link below the picture then scroll right to access maternity resources in different languages

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Columns are titled for ease of search
- click on the website link (if present) or photograph to open the link/webpage/document /video
- scroll right to see all topics
- scroll down each column to find additional links/information

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Resources for parents of twins and multiples

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Resources for parents of twins and multiples

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Click the link below the picture to access all our resources for parents expecting more than one baby.

In this section
-Preparing to meet more than one baby
-Giving birth and meeting your babies
-Feeding your babies
-Support
-Sleep

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Click the link below the picture for resources about who to contact regarding comments, compliments, concerns and complaints

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Videos to support you through your maternity journey

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Videos to support you through your maternity journey

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Click the link below the picture to access our video resources about pregnancy, birth, the postnatal period and feeding your baby.

In this section
-Pregnancy
-Labour & birth
-After your baby is born
-Feeding your baby

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Resources for fathers and non gestational parents

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Resources for fathers and non gestational parents

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Click the link for resources to support birth partners, fathers and non gestational parents.

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Best Beginnings worked with parents and healthcare professionals to create and develop Baby Buddy, a multi-award-winning parenting and pregnancy app.

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Use the NHS Quit Smoking app this 2025 to help you quit smoking and start breathing more easily.

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Stopping smoking is one of the best things you'll ever do for your health.

When you stop, you give your lungs the chance to repair and you'll be able to breathe easier. There are lots of other benefits too - and they start almost immediately.

It's never too late to quit. Let's do this!

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Stopping smoking is one of the best things you'll ever do for your health. When you stop, you give your lungs the chance to repair and you'll be able to breathe easier. There are lots of other benefits too - and they start almost immediately. It's never too late to quit.

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The Baby Check app is designed for babies up to six months of age and features 17 simple checks that parents can do if their baby is showing signs of illness.

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Baby Check App

Baby Check features 19 simple checks that parents can do if their baby is showing signs of illness. Each check tests for a different symptom and when completed, a score is calculated that tells parents or carers how ill their baby is. The app then lets parents know whether their baby needs to see a doctor or health professional.

Download for FREE from Google Play or the App Store.

Buy posters, business cards and other materials to help promote Baby Check to your clients and patients

Shop

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The Baby Check App helps parents decide if their baby needs to see a doctor or health professional

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The British Red Cross free baby and child first aid app helps you keep your little ones safe. The app provides child and baby first aid advice and is designed to support parents, grandparents, and caregivers to learn 17 first aid skills to help in a first aid emergency.

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Free first aid apps | Adult and baby | British Red Cross

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Learn first aid and stay prepared for emergencies. Download the British Red Cross’ free first aid apps for iOS and Android.

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The Infant Sleep Info App provides key information from the Basis website in a handy format for mobile devices. Covering normal sleep development, sleep location and sleep safety.

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The Infant Sleep Info website is full of helpful sleep info for parents and health practitioners, but it can be hard to read on a mobile device, especially a smart phone.

The *NEW 2017* Infant Sleep Info App provides key information from the Basis website in a handy format for mobile devices. Covering normal sleep development, sleep location and sleep safety the familiar info from the website is delivered in smaller chunks. Two features are exclusive to the app

A bed-sharing decision tool guides parents through the key considerations for safe bed-sharing, and explains when bed-sharing may be inadvisable and why.

A sleep log tool helps parents track their baby's sleep, displaying this info on a chart depicting the range of normal sleep for infants of different ages to provide reassurance!

Download here from the Apple App Store Download here from the Google Play store
Or search for 'Infant Sleep Info' or 'Infant Sleep Info Durham Uni' and locate the baby icon.

Key Features of Infant Sleep App

* Bed-sharing decision tool.

* Where will my baby sleep?

* How will my baby sleep?

* Sleep log to track baby's sleep

* Links to Basis info sheets.

* Links to Basis partner organisations

Frequently asked questions about the app

1. How much does the Basis app cost? Nothing! It is free :)

2. Is this a new app? Yes the previous version required updating for the new iOS update, so we redesigned the app, refreshed the look and the content, and added several new info sections. The old app has now been withdrawn.

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The Infant Sleep Info website is full of helpful sleep info for parents and health practitioners, but it can be hard to read on a mobile device, especially a smart phone. The *NEW 2017* Infant Sleep Info App provides key information from the Basis website in a handy format for mobile devices.

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Giving birth and meeting your baby/babies

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Giving birth and meeting your baby/babies

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Click the link below the picture to access all our resources about labour and birth.

In this section
-Preparing for labour and birth
-Choosing where to give birth
-Ideas for birth plans and preferences
-Your birth environment and what to pack for labour
-Birth partners
-Labour & birth
-Induction of labour (IOL)
-Supporting yourself in labour
-Comfort measures and pain management
-Vaginal birth after Caesarean (VBAC)
-Assisted vaginal birth (ventouse or forceps)
-Caesarean birth
-Meeting your baby
-Giving feedback about your care

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The Padlet is a work in progress designed with local families to help make local maternity care the best it can possibly be.
If you have suggestions for resources that can be added or spot any errors or broken links, please let us know by emailing chestermaternityvoices@gmail.com

Thank you

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Click the link below the picture for resources about mental health and well being

In this section

-Countess of Chester Hospital Perinatal Mental Health Services.

-Cheshire & Merseyside Specialist Perinatal Service.

-Organisations that provide information and support

-Local Support Groups

-Helpful Apps

-Perinatal support for partners.

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In our research that led to the 10 mental leaps of a baby, we discovered that all babies are more prone to cry, cling or to be cranky at certain times. A leap may be stressful at times, but it is positive: it gives your baby the opportunity to learn something new. Learn all about the 10 developmental leaps in The Wonder Weeks app.

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The Wonder Weeks® App helps (new) parents
"For parents of newborns and young babies, The Wonder Weeks® app can be a lifesaver during those times of wondering what on earth is going on. Babies change drastically and quickly, often resulting in fussy phases, poor sleep and poor appetite. The Wonder Weeks® app helps parents track developmental progress week by week as young babies develop." SheKnows.com, made our App the:Coolest app for moms 2012!

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The 'original' Wonder Weeks app! Picking up on the international bestselling book, The Wonder Weeks, and more than 35 years of international scientific research, this app will keep you informed about the (mental) leaps and bounds of your baby - any time of day or night.

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Squeezy empowers you to take control of your pelvic health. Designed by chartered physiotherapists you can be confident that your pelvic floor is in safe hands.

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Multi-award winning app supporting people with pelvic floor muscle exercise programmes. Recommended by pelvic health specialists worldwide.

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Click the link below the picture to access more links to helpful support services and organisations

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Please click the link below the picture to access resources for LGBTQ parents

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Click the link below the picture to access all our resources about complications in pregnancy

In this section
-When to call your midwife or maternity unit
-Hyperemesis and pregnancy sickness
-Pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure
-Reduced movements
-Back and pelvic pain
-Breech baby at the end of pregnancy
-Diabetes
-Cholestasis and itching in pregnancy
-Bleeding in pregnancy and low lying placenta
-Having a small baby
-Group B streptococcus (GBS)
-Being overweight during pregnancy
-Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and blood clots
-Epilepsy
-Acute kindeney injury (AKI)
-Sexually transmitted infections (STI's)
-Cancer
-Baby loss and bereavement support

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Please click below the picture to access all our resources about baby loss and bereavement support.

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Projects supporting Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority Families

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Projects supporting Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority Families

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Please click the link below the picture to access links to projects supporting Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority families

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Please click on the picture of the white crown below to access all our information about screening tests for you and your baby. These resources are available in;

English

British Sign Language (BSL)

Easy read Guides

العربية

বাংলা

Français

Lietuvių

Latviešu

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

Polski

Português

Română

Soomaaliga

اردو

中文

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Please click the link below the picture to access all our resources about our neonatal unit and premature birth care

In this section
-Support organisations & information
-Family integrated care (FiCare)
-Labour & birth
-Screening tests for your baby
-Feeding your baby
-For dads
-First aid
-Sleep
-Crying
-Mental & emotional well being
-Useful Apps
-Car seat safety
-NNU questionnaire

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Click the link below to access all our resources about caring for your baby.

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Scroll right to access the following columns

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Scroll right to access the following columns

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-Pregnancy

-Screening tests for you and your baby

-Labour & birth

-After your baby is born

-Feeding your baby

-Caring for your baby

-Mental health

-Complications in pregnancy

-Expecting more than one baby

-Neonatal care

-Baby loss and bereavement support

-Fathers

-Multilingual maternity resources

-Projects support Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority families

-LGBTQ parents

-Sharing your feedback

-Support resources and services

-Video resources

-Useful Apps

-Countess of Chester leaflets

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Please click the link below the picture to access all the Starting Well resources

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Welcome to the Starting Well website! On here you will find lots of information about your health and wellbeing, guiding you to extra support if you need it.

Starting Well Service 'Outstanding for Care' CQC
Please click this link to read more...

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Welcome to the Starting Well website! On here you will find lots of information about your health and wellbeing, guiding you to extra support if you need it. Starting Well Service 'Outstanding for Care' CQC Please click this link to read more...

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If you notice that your baby’s movements have slowed down, changed or stopped, it may be a sign that your baby is not well.

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Kicks Count is the UK's leading baby movement resource and awareness campaign. By empowering pregnant women with knowledge and confidence, babies' lives can be saved.

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Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists

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Published: 13/08/2012
Minor updates published: February 2019
This information is for you if you would like to know about your baby's movements during pregnancy. It may also be helpful if you are concerned that your baby has not been moving as much as usual or feel that your baby's movements have changed.

It tells you about:

What are normal movements for the unborn baby

What affects how much you feel your baby move

What you should do if your baby's movements are reduced or changed

What care you will have if your baby's movements are reduced or changed

This information aims to help you and your healthcare team make the best decisions about your care. It is not meant to replace advice from a doctor or midwife about your own situation.

This information is based on the RCOG clinical guideline Reduced Fetal Movements.

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Published: 13/08/2012 Minor updates published: February 2019 This information is for you if you would like to know about your baby's movements during pregnancy. It may also be helpful if you are concerned that your baby has not been moving as much as usual or feel that your baby's movements have changed.

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Pregnancy: how to protect your baby leaflet

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Pregnancy - how to help protect you and your baby

Please click on the link below to access leaflets in other languages:

Pregnancy: how to help protect you and your baby - GOV.UK

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This guide describes the vaccinations that help protect you and your baby during and after pregnancy.

How vaccines work

Vaccines help your body's natural defence system (the immune system) to develop protective antibodies. Antibodies fight disease and produce longer term protection.

If you are vaccinated against a particular disease and you come into contact with it at a later date, your immune system will respond to the infection more quickly.

Vaccination can help prevent disease or make the illness less serious. Antibodies developed while pregnant pass to your unborn baby and help to protect them in their first few months of life.

Vaccination during pregnancy

Influenza (Flu)

Flu

Flu is a highly infectious disease with symptoms such as fever, chills, aches and pains in the joints and muscles, headaches and extreme tiredness. Flu is usually worse than a bad cold and you may need to spend a few days in bed recovering. Although serious infections are less common in healthy adults, they can sometimes lead to hospitalisation, permanent disability and even death.

Flu in pregnancy

Flu is more serious in pregnancy because of the normal changes that take place during pregnancy. Your immune system is naturally weakened to ensure that your pregnancy is successful, but you may be less able to fight off infections. As your baby grows, you can't breathe as deeply, increasing the risk of infections such as pneumonia. Together, these changes can increase the risk for pregnant women, especially during late pregnancy and if there are other risk factors such as diabetes.

A pregnant woman who catches flu is more likely to need admission to hospital than a woman who isn't pregnant.

Having the flu vaccination means that you are less likely to get ill with flu, and it reduces the risk of you having serious complications such as pneumonia. For these reasons, it's recommended that all pregnant women have the flu vaccine.

Risks for your baby from flu

Flu can be serious for unborn and newborn babies and can lead to premature birth, low birth weight, stillbirth or even death in the first weeks of life.

Flu vaccination

The flu vaccination is an injection into the arm. It's usually available from the end of September and is free for pregnant women. It's safe to have at any time in pregnancy and takes around 14 days to provide protection following vaccination.

The side effects of the flu vaccine are mild compared to the disease itself and are seen in all people, not just pregnant women. Soreness and redness at the injection site are most common. You may also get a headache, muscle aches, fever or tiredness; these usually last for a day or 2 after the vaccination as it starts to work.

Flu can be a serious infection for pregnant women and their babies. Pregnant women should have a free flu vaccine during each pregnancy. It can be given at any stage of pregnancy and as early as possible in the flu season.

Benefits for your baby

By having the vaccination, you reduce the chance of getting flu during your pregnancy and so the risk of complications from flu is reduced. Your baby will also develop some immunity to flu as antibodies are passed from you to your baby though the placenta. This will provide some protection during the first few months of life. As you will continue to be protected throughout the flu season, you are less likely to catch flu and pass it on to your new baby.

Is the flu vaccination safe to have during pregnancy?

The flu vaccines offered to pregnant women contain only killed (inactivated) flu viruses and cannot cause flu. Since 2009, a number of countries have offered the flu vaccine routinely to all pregnant women. Studies show that inactivated flu vaccines can be safely and effectively administered during all stages of pregnancy for both mother and baby.

If you are pregnant and think you have caught flu

Contact your GP urgently and mention that you are pregnant. There is a medicine that you can take that can help relieve some of the symptoms, but you need to take it as soon as possible after symptoms start for it to work.

The best way of protecting yourself and your baby against flu is to have the vaccine before the start of the flu season, usually around September, but you can still have the vaccine at any time during the winter season.

Whooping cough (Pertussis)

Whooping cough

Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease that can be very serious for babies under one year of age. Most young babies with whooping cough will be admitted to hospital.

Whooping cough can cause long bursts of coughing and choking making it hard to breathe. The 'whoop' noise is caused by gasping for breath after each burst of coughing. Young babies don't always make this sound so it can be difficult to recognise.

Whooping cough commonly lasts for around 2 to 3 months. For young babies it can lead to pneumonia and permanent brain damage. In the worst cases, it can cause death.

Around 300 babies are admitted to hospital every year with whooping cough. Other complications of the infection include:

temporary pauses in breathing as a result of severe difficulty with breathing

weight loss due to excessive vomiting

seizures or brain damage

encephalitis (swelling of the brain)

Why you need the whooping cough vaccine

In 2012 there was an increase in the number of people getting whooping cough in the UK; 400 of these were babies under 3 months of age and of these, 14 babies died.

To help prevent more deaths, a whooping cough vaccination programme for pregnant women started during 2012. Your body will produce antibodies to whooping cough which are passed through the placenta to your baby. Your baby then has some protection against whooping cough when it is born. This protection will wear off and your baby should have their whooping cough vaccine at 8 weeks of age.

Timing of vaccination in pregnancy

You will normally receive your whooping cough vaccine around the time of your mid-pregnancy scan (usually 20 weeks) but you can receive it from 16 weeks.

If you have reached 20 weeks of pregnancy and have not yet been offered the whooping cough vaccine, please ask your midwife and / or GP practice.

To give your baby the best protection, you should try and get the vaccine before 32 weeks but if you have missed out you can still have it later. You can even have it after you give birth, to reduce your risk of spreading whooping cough to your baby. The vaccine is a single injection in your arm.

Because protection from whooping cough vaccine wears off over time, you should have the vaccine even if you had it when you were younger or if you have had whooping cough. You should also have it again, if you had it in a previous pregnancy, as vaccination is needed in each pregnancy.

The whooping cough vaccine can be given at the same time as the flu vaccine but do not wait until the winter season to have them together.

Timing of vaccination for babies

In the UK, babies are given the whooping cough vaccine at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age. They are not given their whooping cough vaccines earlier than 8 weeks as they may not respond as well. Babies need 3 doses of the vaccine to build up full protection.

Benefits for your baby

The only way to protect your baby from getting whooping cough in the first 2 months of life is by having the whooping cough vaccine yourself. The protection that you will get from the vaccine passes to your baby through the placenta and protects your baby from whooping cough until they are old enough to have their own vaccine.

Studies have shown that the vaccine is very effective in preventing whooping cough in newborn babies.

The protection that you will get from the vaccination also means that you are less likely to catch whooping cough and pass it on to your baby.

Is the whooping cough vaccine safe to have during pregnancy?

Studies have shown the whooping cough vaccine is very safe for you and your baby. You may have some of the common mild side effects. These include swelling, redness and tenderness at the injection site.

As there is no single whooping cough vaccine available, the vaccine also contains protection against tetanus, and diphtheria, and some of the vaccines also cover polio.

All of these parts of the vaccine are killed (inactivated) and can be safely given in pregnancy.

The vaccine is called ADACEL, you can read more information about ACADEL in the ADECEL Patient Information

It is much safer for you and your baby to have the vaccine than to risk your new-born catching whooping cough.

Vaccination before or after pregnancy

If you are planning to become pregnant you should make sure you are up to date with all vaccinations.

Rubella (German measles)

Catching rubella during pregnancy can be very serious for your baby, causing a condition called congenital rubella syndrome ( CRS). CRS can lead to deafness, blindness, cataracts (eye problems) or even heart problems. It can also result in the death of the baby or the possibility of a termination.

You will be protected from rubella if you have previously had the infection or if you have ever had 2 doses of a rubella-containing vaccine (for example rubella, measles-rubella or measles-mumps-rubella in school, as a child, or at your GP surgery). If you are not sure whether you have had rubella infection or the vaccine, you can check with your GP surgery.

Ideally you should have had 2 doses of a rubella-containing vaccine before you became pregnant. If you have not, then measles, mumps and rubella vaccine ( MMR) can be given up to one month before pregnancy. MMR is a live (weakened) vaccine so is not given during pregnancy. Although there is no evidence that having the MMR vaccine during pregnancy causes harm to babies, it's recommended that you wait to have it until after your baby is born.

MMR vaccination after pregnancy

MMR vaccination after pregnancy will protect you and your baby in any future pregnancy and give you longer term protection against measles, mumps and rubella. You will need 2 doses of the vaccine if you haven't had it before. Your practice nurse will give the first vaccine at the same time as your post-natal check and will give the second dose a month later. You should avoid becoming pregnant for one month after the vaccinations, so you need to have a reliable method of contraception.

If you are not sure if you have had MMR vaccination, you can check with your GP surgery at your post-natal check.

Breastfeeding after vaccination

It's safe to breastfeed your baby after you have had MMR, flu and whooping cough vaccinations. In fact, if you have the whooping cough vaccine while you are pregnant, your breastmilk will have protective antibodies in it so you can continue to share your protection with your baby by breastfeeding.

Rash in pregnancy

You must let your midwife, GP or obstetrician know immediately if you have a rash illness or have any contact with another person with a rash at any time during your pregnancy.

If you delay reporting a rash illness it may not be possible to give you an accurate diagnosis or any recommended treatment.

Please avoid any antenatal clinic, maternity setting or other pregnant women until you have been assessed.

Any illness where you have a fever and a rash may be due to you having an infectious disease that could harm your unborn baby. You may be offered tests to find out if you have been infected. The health professional that assesses you will need to know:

how many weeks pregnant you are

when the contact with someone with a rash illness was

the date that you first developed or had contact with someone with a rash

a description of the rash (is it a raised, bumpy rash or is it blisters filled with fluid?)

what infections you have had in the past, for example chicken pox, measles

what vaccinations you have previously had

Other vaccines to discuss with your midwife

Hepatitis B

At birth, babies born to mothers who have the hepatitis B infection should have hepatitis B vaccine as soon as they are born. Arrangements should be made with your GP surgery for your baby to have further doses of vaccine and a blood test when he or she is one year old to test for infection.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine

Babies born to a parent (or who have a grandparent) from a country where tuberculosis ( TB) is common should have the BCG vaccine to protect them from TB.

Further information

For further information, see:

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Pregnancy: how to help protect you and your baby

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This guide describes the vaccinations that help protect you and your baby during and after pregnancy. Vaccines help your body's natural defence system (the immune system) to develop protective antibodies. Antibodies fight disease and produce longer term protection.

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Our Health Visiting teams provide expert advice, support and interventions for families and children across North Wales. Health Visitors support the health and wellbeing of children from the antenatal period up to 5 years old by offering information and advice to their parents. This advice includes antenatal support, physical and emotional wellbeing of children, the childhood immunisation programme, parenting support, health and developmental progress.

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The Kicks Count app is designed to help you get to know your baby’s regular pattern of movement.

Unlike many other available kick counting apps, ours doesn't stop counting at 10. Remember, there is no set number of movements you need to feel in a day, the important thing is to get to know YOUR baby’s regular pattern.

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The Kicks Count app is designed to help you get to know your baby’s regular pattern of movement, once you have recorded sessions the graphs section will show you your baby’s movements over the last 2, 7 and 14 days.

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Click the link below the picture to access all our resources about feeding your baby.

In this section

-The Countess of Chester infant feeding team

-Antenatal colostrum harvesting

-skin to skin contact

-Responsive feeding

-Breastfeeding

- Expressing breast milk and pump hire

- Breastfeeding support

- Breastfeeding challenges

-Bottle & formula feeding

-Resources for partners

-Multilingual resources