Originally Posted by Baby Beluga:
Just thinking out loud...
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So if most adults have CMV, aren't breastfeeding mothers passing it on to baby anyway?
The biggest risk is from side effects that occur in utero.
For everyone else it is a mild or unnoticed illness.
"Infected babies may, but not always, be born with a disability.
The highest risk to the unborn baby occurs when a woman who has never had CMV before is infected with the virus for the first time during pregnancy (primary CMV infection) and when infection occurs during the first half of the pregnancy. Infection during one pregnancy does not increase the risk for subsequent pregnancies. However, if primary infection occurs, consideration should be given to waiting for at least 12 months before becoming pregnant again.
Studies in Australia have shown that out of 1,000 live births, about 6 infants will have congenital CMV infection and 1-2 of those 6 infants (about 1 in 1000 infants overall) will have permanent disabilities of varying degree. These can include hearing loss, vision loss, small head size, cerebral palsy, developmental delay or intellectual disability, and in rare cases, death.
Sometimes, the virus may reactivate while a woman is pregnant but reactivation does not usually cause problems to the woman or her unborn baby."