Health · Public Health & Disease · 5 hrs ago
Mother raises awareness of cold sore risks after newborn daughter dies
Meg Edmonds, from Staffordshire, lost her newborn daughter Magnolia when the baby was 10 days old.
Tests confirmed Magnolia had a herpes simplex virus infection, which can cause cold sores.
Edmonds believes she may have passed the virus to her daughter after noticing a sore on her lip around the time she gave birth, but she has never been formally diagnosed with the infection.
She says she did not know cold sores could be dangerous to newborns, despite taking precautions such as washing her hands and not kissing Magnolia.
The Lullaby Trust is using her experience to raise awareness of infection risks and help parents protect babies.
Its advice is to wash hands before touching a baby and avoid kissing them when unwell.
These steps can reduce infection risk, although common viruses cannot all be avoided.
Meg Edmonds says her newborn daughter, Magnolia, died from an HSV-1 infection after she had a cold sore around the time of the birth.
Edmonds, 22, said health professionals reassured her that the sore was not a cold sore or was due to hormones or dehydration.
Magnolia was born healthy in February and died 10 days later, after the infection spread through her body and caused multiple organs to fail.
Edmonds believes the virus may have passed from her to her daughter, but the sources do not establish how Magnolia was infected.
Edmonds is sharing her experience through an infection prevention campaign by the Lullaby Trust to raise awareness of newborn infection risks.
- Who
- Meg Edmonds, her daughter Magnolia, and the Lullaby Trust.
- What
- Magnolia died from disseminated neonatal herpes caused by HSV-1. Edmonds says she had a sore around the time of birth and believes the virus may have passed to her daughter.
- When
- Magnolia was born on February 1 and died on February 11; the year is not stated.
- Where
- Rugeley, Staffordshire, and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
- Why
- The sources say Magnolia’s infection was caused by HSV-1, but do not establish how she contracted it. Edmonds believes it may have passed from her.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Magnolia was born healthy, according to the Daily Mail.
Magnolia became sleepy and was not waking for feeds, the Daily Mail reported.
Magnolia died after the infection spread through her body and caused multiple organs to fail, the Daily Mail reported.
Edmonds said she learned that cold sores could be caused by herpes virus and could be dangerous to newborns.
- Mother
- Meg Edmonds, 22
- Baby
- Magnolia, also known as Maggie
- Birth date
- February 1; year not stated
- Death date
- February 11; year not stated
- Infection
- Disseminated neonatal herpes caused by HSV-1
- Hospital
- Birmingham Children’s Hospital
3 sources
What people are saying
But I never knew that if that passed to her it could kill her.
The guilt is obviously unbearable, it's horrific, but I just try and remind myself that I didn't know and I did what I could have done with the knowledge that I did have,
The virus came from me, which is so devastatingly hard to live with,
But protecting your baby from infection is never something you need to justify.