Mum told to prepare for ‘worst’ urges others to get respiratory illness vaccine

Image caption, Jo Goldsmith is advising pregnant women to take up the vaccine

Wales health correspondentPublished8 minutes agoA woman whose newborn daughter became ill after catching a potentially serious respiratory illness is urging other pregnant women to make sure they are vaccinated against it.

Jo Goldsmith said she was told to prepare for the "worst" after her daughter Phoebe contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) a few days after being born.

The vaccine was not available at the time of her pregnancy, but she said she "definitely would have had it".

"I wouldn't want any family to go through what we went through," she said.

Nerys Evans, Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health, is also urging people to make sure they are vaccinated against Covid-19, flu and RSV ahead of the winter months.

RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds,, external and although infections usually get better by themselves, they can sometimes be serious for babies and older adults, according to the NHS.

RHS vaccinations were introduced in Wales in September 2024.

Image source, Jo GoldsmithImage caption, Phoebe was five days old when she was diagnosed with RSV positive bronchiolitis on Christmas Eve

Goldsmith, a children's nurse and health visitor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said that when Phoebe was born four years ago, she realised within days that something was wrong.

"She was five days old, she had quite a lot of congestion… and we noticed quite quickly that she seemed to be breathing very fast and was struggling," she said.

She said she took Phoebe to hospital and "it escalated from there", with the family told on Christmas Eve that she had RSV positive bronchiolitis.

"So, we knew that we were going to be in [hospital] for the Christmas period. But we didn't quite realise how unwell she was going to be."

Phoebe soon deteriorated and was admitted to the hospital's high dependency unit, and Goldsmith said her experience as a nurse told her "we were going to be in for a bit of a rough ride".

But she said Phoebe took "her own unique path with it", and "really kept the doctors on their toes".

She said that after being taken to a room and shown an X-ray doctors "weren't quite sure which way we were going to go with things".

"They sort of prepared us for… the worse," she added.

Image source, Jo GoldsmithImage caption, Jo and her family were unsure whether Phoebe would make it past Christmas

Phoebe pulled through the virus but did face some longer-term problems, including being admitted to hospital several times with chest problems. Her hearing was also affected.

Goldsmith is now calling on others to be vaccinated against the illness, describing the experience as "the most traumatic thing we've had to go through".

"Watching your baby struggle to breathe and not knowing whether they were going to get through the next couple of hours, of what was going to happen overnight with them," she said.

RSV is a common virus that circulates every winter. It usually causes mild symptoms, but for babies, older people and those with weakened immune systems, it can lead to serious illness, including bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

During a normal RSV season, infection in children under two years old is responsible for approximately 7,000 to 9,500 GP appointments and 2,300 to 2,600 hospital admissions in Wales.

It is estimated that RSV infection in over 75-year-olds is responsible for 7,000 to 9,000 GP appointments, 700 to 1,000 hospital admissions and 400 to 600 deaths in Wales each year.

The RSV vaccine is offered routinely year-round to all adults aged 75 and over, and pregnant women from 28 weeks – to help protect newborn babies from the virus. Older people only need the vaccine once and pregnant women should have the vaccine with every pregnancy.

The Welsh government is reminding people that the RSV vaccine is separate from the flu vaccine and should not be forgotten.

This autumn the offer of a RSV vaccine has also been extended to higher-risk adults aged 65 to 74, including those who are immunosuppressed or have chronic respiratory disease.

Evans, from the Welsh government, said Joanne's story was a "powerful reminder of how serious RSV can be", for older people and for babies.

"I urge all who are eligible to come forward for their flu jab, their COVID-19 booster and their RSV vaccine.

"They protect against different viruses, and it really can make the difference between a mild illness and a serious hospital stay," she said.

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