It’s Time to Educate Women about the Risks of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) During Pregnancy

Pregnant women are commonly educated about a variety of ways they should take care of themselves in order to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Some of the most widely known precautions women are advised about during pregnancy are actually quite rare while one of the greatest risks to the health of a developing fetus remains largely undisclosed to women, cytomegalovirus or CMV which is the leading cause of birth defects. The fact that CMV is left out of most conversations health care providers have with pregnant women is especially surprising given that there are relatively simple things pregnant women can do to significantly reduce the risk of their baby contracting it during pregnancy. CMV is a disease infants can be tested for at birth and, if they are found to have it, there is a medication that can reduce, if not prevent altogether, the potential profound effects CMV can have on a child’s development. And yet, this testing is not done as a matter of standard practice either. In this episode of EarWorm we will be talking with author, Megan Nix who is the mother of five children, one of whom was born with CMV and who, as a result, is profoundly deaf. We will discuss the importance of preventing CMV, testing for CMV at birth and treating CMV in a timely fashion to prevent the negative effects of the virus on a child’s development.