Parent Stories

Portia - Michigan

​Portia is stubborn, strong-willed and fiercely determined. It’s what gives her an edge in life.

Indya - Georgia

Our daughter, Indya, was born in 1988. Except for the cold I had towards the end of my first trimester, my pregnancy was normal, and we had no reason for concern beyond the typical worries of first-time parents. 

Leo - New York

This was our second pregnancy. It was a BOY! All was going according to plan. The 21-week ultrasound was scheduled and Karen went in very confident all was going to be okay. Turns out, it wasn't. 

Dorothea - New Jersey

This is Dorothea! We live in New Jersey. I was diagnosed with CMV within the first trimester of my pregnancy (8 weeks). Dorothea did contract the virus, but was born asymptomatic.

Logan - Massachusetts

Not a day goes by that we don’t think of and miss Logan. We will always wonder what could have been, had we known about congenital CMV and its prevention.

Nyah - Australia

This is our daughter Nyah, she is 5 months old and was born with CMV. I had no idea I contracted the virus when I was pregnant.
 
It was the most frightening time of our lives, her viral load was in the millions but for now she is happy and healthy. We have to monitor her hearing, of course, but we so far have been very lucky with her health. 
 

Gage - Missouri

There’s this boy. I’m completely head over heels for him. He has a way of capturing hearts with his smile. He’s my first-born son.

Gage came into our lives in July of 2014 following a normal pregnancy. Shortly after his arrival and a brief stay in the NICU, we were thrilled to be home with our baby boy. That’s when we got a call with results from bloodwork, confirming the doctors’ suspicions and our fears—a diagnosis of CMV.

Callie - Missouri

My first grandchild was born on September 5, 2017, and she passed away on September 11, 2017 from CMV. My son Clayton, his fiancé Brittney and the rest of the family are still in the grieving process.
 
Throughout their pregnancy, everything was as perfect as perfect can be. I could not have asked for a better person to be carrying my grandchild and take care of her like she did. Brittney took very good care of herself and Callie. Every time they went to their doctor’s appointments, all was perfect. Baby was right where they wanted her to be, good weight, good size: All of it, perfect. 

Chief - New York

This journey has caused me to be very passionate about CMV awareness - to the public, to expecting mothers and to our healthcare providers. I've contacted my local lawmakers to persuade them to pass proposed legislation in NY state that will require CMV testing for newborns that fail their newborn hearing screenings and require educational information for pregnant women about cCMV. I'll do anything I can to help.

Elizabeth - Maryland

CMV is often found in child care centers. I was unaware that cytomegalovirus (CMV) was an occupational risk for daycare educators when I became a licensed home daycare provider in Maryland in 1987. I didn’t know that CMV could devastate my pregnancy with Elizabeth, who was born severely disabled by congenital CMV in 1989.