I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for MedImmune. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
I was only nine when my niece Carley was born in September of 2000. That winter, she was hospitalized with RSV. I’ll never forget peeking at her from her tiny plastic box. She looked incredibly sleepy and I could hear her breathing. It was so strange to see her without her wiggly, cheerful demeanor. It was really the lack of expression and movement that made me realize she was truly very sick. She got better and is now a happy and health 13 year old. The experience really showed me how scary RSV can be. Yet, almost all children get RSV at least once before their second birthday. For most children, it only has a minor affect on them and shows up as a mild or moderate cold for the most part. For other babies, they get sick enough to require hospitalization. Preemies are particularly at risk for RSV because preemies are more likely to have underdeveloped lungs and weakened immune systems. Their lacking immune systems make them susceptible to a wide range of illnesses, RSV being one of them. World Prematurity Day is November 17th, to try and increase awareness of how to protect these vulnerable babies during the winter months in particular. If your baby or one in your life was a preemie, it’s important to learn about the health risks that they face and how you can change your behavior to try and protect them from diseases like RSV that are particularly threatening to preemies.
Carley wasn’t a preemie, and my now 7 month old niece Kelsie wasn’t either but both had rough starts to life and seem to get sick easily. RSV happens in epidemics each year, usually from November through March. During this time period, there are several ways that you can try to keep babies safe from RSV.
1) Wash your hands really well before holding your baby and ask family members to do the same.
2) Don’t let anyone smoke around or near your baby.
3) Wash your babys belongings often.
4) Keep your baby away from people who have colds and other young children.
If you want to learn more about RSV, check out the RSV Protection website, it has tons of great info about RSV and protecting babies. Also check out the infographic below for some additional info.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
RSV scares me. I have seen too many babies sick with it. I worry about it all the time when my babies were little. we were rather protective during this season.
Good tips, I was unsure of the symptoms of RSV. This is a good guide to print out. Glad your niece is healthy teen now