Study finds whooping cough vaccine safe for pregnant women

A new study finds the whooping cough vaccine is safe for pregnant women.

The vaccine known as Tdap is combined with tetanus and diphtheria.

Researchers at the Healthcare Institute for Education and Research studied more than 26,000 pregnant women who received the Tdap vaccine.

They found no increased risk for premature births, small full-term babies or high blood pressure. Whooping cough is highly contagious and can be fatal in newborns.

The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.