South Auckland health leader Dr Andrew Connelly says a big campaign is needed to get hapu māma immunised against whooping cough.
Connolly, the chief medical officer of health for Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau Health, says only 50 per cent of all pregnant women in the region have had the immunisation shot.
But only 25 per cent of pregnant Māori have had the shot.
Immunisation at that stage passes through the whenua/placenta to the pēpi, offering protection for its first year.