Claire Henderson was shocked when she had to take her 3-month-old baby Brooke to the hospital over something as simple a stranger's kiss.
While there are many dangers, like shaken baby syndrome, that parents are aware of, Claire believes many don't know about this one.
She let a friend kiss her baby near the mouth, but what she didn't know was that the person had herpes. Brooke's mouth became covered in cold sores and, although she is recovering, most infants are not able to fight the herpes virus.
Even if a person doesn't have visible cold sores they can pass the virus along. According to the Center for Disease Control, one in six people between 19 and 49 have genital herpes in the United States.
There is no cure for herpes, which is why it is important to take extra precaution in preventing transmission to infants.
Since Claire shared her story on Facebook it has been shared almost 40,000 times. We hope that you will share this important story, too.
See more of Claire and Brook's experience below.
"Please share this with every new mum and pregnant woman you know… COLD SORES CAN BE FATAL FOR A BABY. Before 3 months old a baby cannot fight the herpes virus."
"If a baby contracts this it can cause liver and brain damage and lead to death. I know this sounds like I am scaremongering but if my friend had not told me about this my baby girl could have been very seriously ill."
"I noticed the signs early and got her to A&E, we have now been in hospital on a drip for 3 days and have got another 2 to go. She was VERY lucky, all her tests came back clear. The moral of the story is DO NOT let anyone kiss your newborns mouth, even if they don't look like they have a cold sore- 85% of the population carry the virus."
"And if someone had a cold sore ask them to stay away until it has gone. Everyone who I have spoken to had not heard of this before and so I felt it was important to share Brooke's story and raise awareness to stop anyone else going through what we have this week."
Please SHARE this story, as Claire indicated, to let other mothers know about this real concern.
