Mum's shock and fear as baby Isla contracted virus

FAMILY AIMS TO RAISE AWARENESS - AND PUSH FOR NEW TESTING

- By SAM VOLPE Health reporter [e-mail]

A TYNESIDE family were shocked and scared when they were told there could be a bleed on their baby's brain.

Mum Effie Williams, 25, was just days from being induced and giving birth when they were told something unusual had appeared on a scan.

That was at 36 weeks and four days into the pregnancy. Effie and partner Kai Preece decided that rather than wait for complex tests, they would go ahead and little Isla Preece-Williams was born just days later.

Isla had a worrying rash on her face and head though her parents thought she just had some freckles.

Days after that, following a battery of blood tests, the Fenham family were told that little Isla had congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV).

The virus is common and often unnoticed in the adult population, but in babies it can have profound consequences and lead to lifelong disabilities.

Along with hearing loss, CMV can impact on a child’s motor skills, or lead to conditions such as cerebral palsy and ADHD.

Effie said: "I had a really normal pregnancy. I was fit and well - and had no signs or symptoms of anything untoward.