Pregnant women in the Banbury area are being urged to get vaccinated to protect their infants and themselves.

The Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH) says the vaccinations will protect babies against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Whooping cough (pertussis) and mothers against flu ahead of winter.

The vaccines are free and available without an appointment at the Horton General Hospital midwifery-led unit, Banbury on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 9am-5pm and the JR Women’s Centre, Level 4 from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, and Saturday, 9am-4pm.

“The vaccines are safe, effective and recommended during pregnancy, helping to reduce the risk of complications for mothers and providing important protection for babies during their first months of life. Across England, there has been a 50% drop in newborn intensive care admission recorded in the first full year of the RSV maternal vaccine programme,” said a spokesman.

Pregnant women are offered vaccinations to protect their babies and themselves

placeholder image — Pregnant women are offered vaccinations to protect their babies and themselves

Women can receive their vaccinations when attending antenatal appointments or drop in during opening hours. Information about vaccinations is provided during routine antenatal care and anyone with questions is encouraged to speak to their midwife or GP.

Pregnant women are encouraged to get vaccinated against:

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – available all year round between 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy.

Whooping cough (pertussis) – available all year round from 16 weeks of pregnancy.

Flu – at any point during the pregnancy but only between September to March.

All vaccines offered are inactive, meaning they do not contain live viruses and cannot cause illness in either mother or baby.

This winter marks the third seasonal vaccination campaign supported by the maternity immunisation hubs, which were introduced to make it easier for women to access recommended vaccinations alongside their maternity care.

The OUH maternity immunisation team delivered more than 5,017 vaccinations in the September 2025 to March 2026 winter vaccination programme.

Amanda Lee, Matron for Maternity Public Health at OUH, said: “These vaccines have been carefully tested, are routinely recommended and help provide protection at a time when women and newborn babies can be particularly vulnerable.

“Our maternity immunisation hubs make it easy for women to get vaccinated at a time and place that works for them, whether they are attending an appointment or dropping in.”

Find out more about vaccinations during pregnancy here.