cytomegalovirus (cmv)

[where'smyhalo?]

does anyone here have any experience with it? my best friend's daughter was born with this condition at 25 weeks and didn't survive. the only reason they knew anything was wrong was because the baby had stopped growing and they did an emergency c-section. my sister is 35 weeks and the baby isn't growing at the "regular" rate, so she's scheduled for another ultrasound this week. i'm just worried, because i know some of the causes of this condition are exposure to small children and animals, both of which my sister has been in contact with (she works in childcare). my friend also told me that her doctor basically told her not to tell anyone that this is what her daughter had, because apparently there is some sort of attitude of shame or guilt associated with this. ??? are there tests for this? any information is appreciated.

[PotatoFace]

shame or guilt?

good lord what a nice doctor. babies are born how they are born. and its no ones fault unless the mother didnt take proper care of herself, in which this case isnt.

i have no clue. but i hope your sister is alright.

[courey]

oh wow. :(
I'd never heard of it, but I did a search, and found this page:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cmv.htm

[where'smyhalo?]

thank you, courey, that was very helpful. [post28]

i imagine she's been exposed to the virus since she's worked in childcare for about eight years. from what that page said, cases like my friend's seem to be rare. i fucking hope.

i haven't said anything about it to her because she's so, so worried. i don't want to worry her any more.

[garoux]

Everything I've read about it says it's really rare. It's not extremely contagious. Only 1 in 200 babies is born with the virus, and only a very small percentage of these actually show any of the ill effects commong associated with CMV.
Babies grow in a different shapes and sizes. Anytime I say my baby's currently in the 50thpercentile for growth, my sister gets all weird and says, "Are you sure you're taking good care of yourself because that seems awfully small to me?" I tell her, "Okay, then, should I blow my gestational diabetic diet and have a massive baby because that would be more normal?" Just because her baby's in the 80th percentile for growth and mine's not doesn't mean there's anything wrong with either of our children--it just means we grow them differently.
I hope everything goes well with your sister!