Brisbane mum Miff discovered she had contracted CMV while pregnant. It can present like a common cold, and many people have no symptoms – but if you’re pregnant it can be passed to your baby and lead to a host of potentially serious issues. Miff told her story to Kidspot during CMV Awareness Month:
I wasn’t sick and didn’t know that I had contracted Cytomegalovirus (CMV). On an ultrasound at 26 weeks, they noticed that Azaria’s head was measuring small, and that triggered doctors to do some further investigation.
I had never heard of CMV; I am one of five kids and have nine nieces and nephews – none of my siblings had heard of it either – having so many kids in the family, you’d think someone would have been told about it during one of those pregnancies.
Apparently, 80 percent of the population has this virus, CMV often doesn’t show symptoms, it’s like a common cold, so most people don’t know. But if you catch it when you are pregnant, CMV is a big concern… There are no preventative vaccinations.
CMV can be prevented with simply hygiene measures – find out more here
