Brooke Hale's baby, Luca, was born 12 weeks premature with severe cold-sore virus infection, causing him to be blind in one eye. He is one of a few babies each year to develop this condition in the womb, and is lucky to be alive.
Brooke Hale never thought she could pass the cold-sore virus onto her baby while he was still in the womb. But baby Luca arrived 12 weeks early, appearing to be “burnt all over” and left blind in one eye due to the cold-sore virus . Brooke, a mother from Bristol, described Luca as weighing just two-and-a-half pounds at birth, equivalent to two bags of sugar.
Initially, doctors suspected a rare skin condition, but tests on Brooke’s placenta revealed that Luca had been infected with the cold-sore virus. Both Brooke and her husband Luke, a 41-year-old plumber, have the common lifelong virus, which affects approximately 64 percent of the global population. Luca is one of just a handful of babies to develop this condition in the womb every year and is considered lucky to be alive. He spent 12 weeks in St Michael’s neonatal intensive care unit, lost sight in his right eye, and is now being drip-fed medication around the clock to prevent flare-ups. Despite having no concerns during her first two scans at around 10 and 20 weeks, Brooke’s fourth scan on December 8, 2023, showed an increased amount of cloudy fluid, indicating a problem. She started experiencing pains every few hours, which intensified over the weekend
Cold-Sore Virus Premature Birth Baby Luca Blindness Neonatal Intensive Care Placenta Infection
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