Mum calls for better screening to protect unborn babies from deadly virus

A young Stockton mum has told TFM Radio there needs to be more training and better understanding of the CMV virus - after her own baby contracted it.

Published 18th Jun 2015

A young Stockton mum has told TFM Radio there needs to be more training and better understanding of the CMV virus - after her own baby contracted it.

Sophie Lofthouse's daughter Ruby was born four weeks early because she wasn't growing - she weighed just over three pounds.

The 23-year-old says she could only watch helplessly as her little girl was rushed to intensive care.

"She was covered in a rash, she had an enlarged liver and spleen and she was taken straight to the neonatal unit," Sophie said.

"It was not until she was four days old we found out it was CMS that caused her to be born so poorly."

Sophie is among several North East mums now calling for a 12 week scan for the virus so it can be detected sooner in pregnancy.