Pregnant women in Medway are being urged to contact their GP about a vaccination to protect their unborn baby against whooping cough.

Following a surge of cases in very young babies, all women who are 28 weeks pregnant or more, are being offered immunisation against the disease for the first time.

Dr Alison Barnett, director of public health for Medway, said: "Whooping cough is highly contagious and newborns are particularly vulnerable.

"Babies cannot be immunised against whooping cough until they are two months old. By having the vaccination while they are pregnant, women can pass on immunity that will protect their child from the day they are born until they are old enough to start being immunised themselves.

"New mothers who have not been vaccinated are also being offered the jab, to reduce their risk of passing the disease to their new babies. This applies to those mothers whose babies have not yet had their first vaccination (usually given at two months old).

"The vaccination is being offered by GP practices and I urge women who are at least six months pregnant to contact their practice and find out when they can have their vaccination."

Nine babies in England died from whooping cough in the first eight months of this year and there have been 302 cases of the disease in children under three months old.

Dr Alan Beattie, community paediatrician at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: "In the mid 1970s, uptake of whooping cough vaccine in Kent was approximately 25 per cent and in 1982 it was 60 per cent - so there is a high chance that pregnant women who are in their 30s have not been vaccinated."

Has your child had whooping cough? Contact the newsroom on 01634 227828.