A mother says she was told her mouth ulcers were ‘just hormones’ before her newborn died, and now urges parents: ‘It could save your baby’s life’

A mother in Staffordshire reports being told that her painful mouth ulcers were “just hormones” in the days before her newborn daughter died. According to the Daily Mail, Meg Edmonds, 22, says the sores appeared on the day Magnolia, known as Maggie, was born. Edmonds states that she checked with health professionals about the sores, asking whether the sores could be cold sores. She was told that hormones were the cause or that she should drink more.

Maggie was alert and feeding well on days one and two. By the third day she was drowsy and not waking to feed. Over about a week her cry became weak and high-pitched, her eye was sore, a rash spread across her chest, and she struggled to breathe. She also became gray and cold. Edmonds and partner Ben Brookes state that at home visits and in hospital, staff blamed jaundice, feeding difficulties and weight loss.

Maggie was moved to the intensive care ward of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where the infection had reached several organs and they began to fail. She died after a cardiac arrest while her parents held her, ten days after she was born. Tests identified herpes simplex virus type one, known as HSV-1. Edmonds states she was later told the ulcers she developed were probably her first encounter with the virus, and she believes it passed from her to Maggie.

What to know about neonatal herpes

Herpes simplex virus is widespread. The World Health Organization estimates that about 67 percent of those younger than 50 are infected with HSV-1, which spreads mainly through mouth-to-mouth contact and usually passes on without symptoms. Newborns are more vulnerable because their immune systems are still developing.

Early signs can be easy to miss. The NHS states that many affected babies never develop a rash or blisters and can worsen quickly. It advises urgent help from a doctor or NHS 111 if a baby is irritable, feeds poorly or has a temperature of 38C or higher. Sores on the skin, eyes or mouth also call for urgent help. It advises calling 999 if a baby is floppy, difficult to wake or struggling to breathe.

Treatment involves intravenous antiviral medicine, usually for several weeks. Full recovery is typical when only the eyes, mouth or skin are affected, while infection that reaches the organs is much more serious. Some babies die despite treatment. To lower the risk, the NHS advises washing hands before handling a baby and avoiding kisses while a cold sore is present. It also advises covering cold sores and washing hands before breastfeeding. The risk is highest during the first six weeks. NI Direct notes that sores can develop on a breast if a mother touches a lip sore and afterward her breast.

The Lullaby Trust is running Infection Prevention Week this month, and Edmonds and Brookes are backing it. A survey that included 1,001 parents for the charity found that 57 percent reported a relative had kissed their baby without checking first. Another 46 percent felt uneasy asking relatives to clean their hands. Edmonds states that setting boundaries is a must, adding, “It could save your baby’s life.” Chief executive Jenny Ward stated, “You are not being rude or over-protective.”

Edmonds states that her family and friends did not know “a cold sore could kill a baby.” She has not received a formal diagnosis of her own infection. Symptoms that go unexplained can leave families searching for answers, and doctors could not explain an engineer’s illness for more than two years in an unrelated case.