Don't catch CMV when pregnant!

I caught CMV (cytomegalovirus) when I was pregnant. It might have been avoided if I had been taught about this #1 viral cause of birth defects, which causes more disabilities than Down syndrome. I work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to raise awareness. The following short story about my daughter, Elizabeth, will tell you how to protect your unborn child:

Elizabeth and Anything But a Dog!

The moment Elizabeth was born, I felt a stab of fear. My immediate thought was "Her head looks so small — so deformed."

The neonatologist declared, "Your daughter has profound microcephaly — her brain is very small with calcium deposits throughout. If she lives, she will never roll over, sit up, or feed herself." He concluded that Elizabeth's birth defects were caused by congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) — a virus that may have no symptoms for the mother, known as a "silent virus," or it may present itself with mild to severe flu-like symptoms to a mother during pregnancy.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about one in 150 children is born with CMV infection and approximately one in 750 is born with or develops permanent disabilities because of it. CMV is the #1 viral cause of mental retardation and hearing loss—more common a cause of disabilities than Down syndrome.

How and why did I catch this virus that I had barely heard of? I read the CMV literature. It stated that women who care for young children are at a higher risk for catching it as preschoolers are the majority of carriers. The virus is spread through bodily fluids such as saliva and urine. Pregnant women need to be careful not to kiss young children on or around the mouth or share food or towels with them. Careful handwashing must be practiced after diaper changes, wiping runny noses, etc.Why hadn’t my OB/GYN warned me about this?

While I was pregnant with Elizabeth, I not only had a toddler of my own, but also ran a licensed daycare center in my home. I felt sick at what my ignorance had done to my little girl. In milder cases, children with congenital CMV may lose hearing or struggle with learning disabilities later in life. But Elizabeth's case was not a mild one.

It took about a year, but I eventually stopped praying that a nuclear bomb would drop on my house so I could escape my overwhelming anguish over Elizabeth's condition. Life did become good again--but it took alot of help from family, friends, the Book of Psalms and a little bit of Valium! We were moving ahead just like any normal family--which included my older daughter pestering me for a dog. The following is a short excerpt of my recently published book, “Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV," which I wrote to share the devotion of an old, homeless dog to Elizabeth and to educate the public about the latest news on CMV prevention and emerging treatments:

“Mom, can I have a dog?” my six-year-old daughter Jackie asked, standing next to me while I washed the breakfast dishes.

I cringed. The dreaded day was here—all kids inevitably ask for one. And why wouldn’t they? Movie dogs like Lassie drag you from burning buildings and keep you warm when you’re lost in a blizzard. But by the time we're adults, we've learned the truth about them: they urinate on your new wall-to-wall carpets, dig holes in your leather recliners to hide their rawhide bones, and bite your neighbor's kid.

“No, you can't have a dog,” I said, bracing myself for the age-old argument.

“Why not?” she demanded.

My mind raced for good excuses to make my point. Might as well start with the standard one: “A dog is too much work. And I know I'll end up being the one who walks it in the pouring rain.”

“I promise I'll take care of it. I will, I really will! Honest Mom!” Jackie exclaimed.

“Sure,” I thought, “that’s what they all say.” Avoiding her pleading eyes, I picked up a plate sticky with leftover syrup. “The truth is,” I said, “we just can't risk a dog around your sister.” I hated admitting that. I didn't want her to blame her little sister, three years younger, for being so fragile. But taking care of Elizabeth, who was quadriplegic from cerebral palsy, was already enough work without adding a dog that might playfully nip at her.

I know! I’ll give Jackie the “lip-severing story.” That’ll convince her we can’t have a dog around her sister.

“When I was 13,” I began, “I talked Grandma and Grandpa into letting me have a Weimaraner. His name was Bogie—short for Humphrey Bogart—and he was a nipper. One day, my two-year-old cousin Suzannah was playing on the floor underneath the table with a Popsicle stick in her mouth. Bogie snapped at the stick and bit her lip off! My grandmother got the lip off the carpet and wrapped it in a paper napkin to take to the hospital. But it couldn’t be sewn back on. A surgeon fixed Suzannah’s face, but when we got home, my mother loaded Bogie into the back seat of the car and took him to the vet’s. I never saw him again. He took the ‘long walk’ as they say in the Lady and the Tramp movie.”

I paused so Jackie could let the horror of the incident sink in.

But all she wanted to know was, “Where’s Suzannah’s lip now?”

To see pictures of Elizabeth, Jackie and the big, homeless dog that eventually made it into our home, visit my Web site at www.authorlisasaunders.com (you can also finish reading chapter one of my book there).


Please help me stop the spread of CMV--tell your friends and OB/GYN about it.

Thanks!

Lisa Saunders, saundersbooks@aol.com