Under attack
A virus that I’d picked up when I was pregnant was causing real damage
As I felt a swift kick, I laughed to my partner Zak, 23, ‘She’s making her presence known!’
Luna was our first, and pregnancy had been smooth until my 20-week scan, in April 2017.
But there, it quickly became clear something wasn’t right. Our girl’s bowel was swollen and fluid surrounded her brain.
I was devastated to learn it was because of something I’d picked up.
‘It’s called cytomegalovirus or CMV,’ the doctor said.
It’s a common virus that’s usually harmless, but for mums-to-be it can cause complications for their baby.
I’d had no symptoms, so doctors went through all scenarios – our baby could be stillborn, have a small head, her bowel might not work properly. ‘Is she going to be OK?’ I asked, panicked. ‘We’ll have to monitor you closely,’ they explained.
A procedure to test the amniotic sac for CMV showed I was positive for the disease.
My baby was under attack. I felt guilty – could I have done something to keep her safe?
I had scans every three weeks until, at 33 weeks, my contractions started...
Delivered by emergency Caesarean, Luna arrived in September 2017, a tiny 3lb 4oz.
Whisked into Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU), she was hooked up to a ventilator. ‘She’s a fighter,’ Zak told me. And the doctors were positive. The chances were that the CMV would gradually become less infectious and we could take her home.
For two weeks, that’s what Zak and I hoped.
In mid-September, Luna was discharged from the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge. Then, eight hours later, during a final checkup at our local hospital, West Sussex, doctors found blood in her nappy. Luna was quickly hooked up to more monitors. She’d developed necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), where tissues in the bowel become inflamed. It was likely that the CMV that I’d passed on had caused it.
She’d been doing so well...now she looked so fragile. We couldn’t touch her, let alone dress her in the cute clothes we’d got her.
But, worst of all, we learned she now urgently needed an op to remove 25cm of her bowel.
It was the only way to save her life, but it was risky.
‘She’s not strong enough,’ the surgeon said, ‘but we have to try.’ I was beside myself with fear. Luna had a piece of her bowel removed and replaced with a stoma – an opening on the surface of her abdomen, to divert the flow of faeces.
Incredibly, our brave little mite battled on. But she wasn’t safe yet. She’d need to stay in NICU for five weeks.
We lived over an hour away and I couldn’t bear being far from her. Yet we couldn’t afford to stay nearby... Thankfully, a charity called The Sick Children’s Trust provided us with accommodation just a few minutes from Luna’s cotside.
Over seven weeks, she gradually improved, gaining weight, and was weaned off the ventilators and oxygen.
I held her, bottle-fed her for the first time. Magic!
‘Told you she’s a fighter!’ Zac smiled.
In October 2017, we brought Luna home. And, in January 2018, her stoma was reversed.
Now she’s 18 months old and, when I watch her bob in her bouncer, I have to pinch myself. She’s even just started to crawl.
But I’d advise all mums-to-be to ask about CMV. That way, at least they can put precautions in place.
Thankfully, it looks as if there’ll be no stopping our girl!