di marco
26-02-2009, 19:10
A newborn baby died after her mother accidentally passed on the herpes simplex virus.
Ruth Schofield kissed and breastfed baby Jennifer, not realising she had passed the deadly virus on to the child who had not built up an immunity to it.
11-day-old Jennifer died in hospital after the virus attacked her major organs.
An inquest discovered Jennifer had died from the virus, which her mother had likely caught during the latter stages of pregnancy.
Towards the end of her pregnancy, Miss Schofield complained of flu-like symptoms and was prescribed antibiotics by her GP.
When Jennifer was eight days old she was admitted to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary for assessment, because she was not feeding.
Her health deteriorated quickly and the family agreed to cease medical intervention on December 5, 2006.
"The day she died it was a total shock to the system because there were no signs that she had HSV," Miss Schofield said.
"On the last day her body just shut down. It is amazing how fast it takes a baby."
Miss Schofield has since had another child, Annabel, who is 15-months-old and also has a 16-year-old daughter, Emma.
The condition is thought to kill six babies a year in the United Kingdom.
Ruth Schofield kissed and breastfed baby Jennifer, not realising she had passed the deadly virus on to the child who had not built up an immunity to it.
11-day-old Jennifer died in hospital after the virus attacked her major organs.
An inquest discovered Jennifer had died from the virus, which her mother had likely caught during the latter stages of pregnancy.
Towards the end of her pregnancy, Miss Schofield complained of flu-like symptoms and was prescribed antibiotics by her GP.
When Jennifer was eight days old she was admitted to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary for assessment, because she was not feeding.
Her health deteriorated quickly and the family agreed to cease medical intervention on December 5, 2006.
"The day she died it was a total shock to the system because there were no signs that she had HSV," Miss Schofield said.
"On the last day her body just shut down. It is amazing how fast it takes a baby."
Miss Schofield has since had another child, Annabel, who is 15-months-old and also has a 16-year-old daughter, Emma.
The condition is thought to kill six babies a year in the United Kingdom.