Mum warns of dangers of virus spread by cough after being told baby would be stillborn

Zoe Ellard, 34, from Peterborough, has told how she was "preparing to give birth to a stillborn" after her unborn baby picked up slapped cheek syndrome from the family

A mum whose unborn baby miraculously survived after picking up slapped cheek syndrome is now warning of the dangers to other parents.

Zoe Ellard, 34, was rushed to hospital at just 25 weeks into her second pregnancy after her eldest daughter came home with the slapped cheek sickness.

The common condition is usually seen in children with symptoms like headaches, a high temperature, and a red rash on one or both cheeks.

Her daughter had unwittingly passed the syndrome onto her mother and Zoe's unborn baby developed hydrops fetalis - severe swelling caused by the slapped cheek virus.

Zoe was told baby Elsie would be stillborn but the tot miraculously survived after her birth at 27 weeks and is now 15 months old.

Zoe, from Peterborough, has now shared her story to raise awareness about how serious the condition of slapped cheek is for pregnant mothers and their babies.

The hairdresser said: "We nearly lost Elise and it ripped our family apart. When she was born, nobody knew how to treat her. We were told that she was the only baby in the UK that had it to the severity that she had and to survive. We were very, very lucky. I just want people to realise how dangerous slapped cheek is."

Slapped cheek can be particularly dangerous for pregnant women as it can infect the foetus with another serious condition called Hydrops fetalis. Around half of babies who contract Hydrops do not survive.

Zoe contacted Peterborough City Hospital at the beginning of July 2023 to say that Maddison, then ten, had contracted slapped cheek. She said: “I was aware that it was potentially dangerous to pregnant women and I was told that the midwife wasn’t sure if I needed to be seen and that she would check with the consultant.

“I was then told that it was so rare that a woman my age would not be immune to a slapped cheek that I would not need a blood test but I could request one from my GP to make myself feel better if I wanted. I said ‘good luck with that as I can never get through to them'."

Two weeks later, Zoe rang the hospital’s NHS helpline for pregnant women to say that she felt big and heavy despite being only 25 weeks pregnant. Zoe sent a recording of her baby’s heartbeat to a midwife at the hospital and insisted she was seen before being admitted to hospital.

Tests led doctors to conclude that her baby had Hydrops - a condition which causes fluid build up in a baby's tissues and organs - and that Zoe had entered pre-term labour. She was rushed to Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, where she was told that her baby had fluid on her brain, her heart and her stomach.

Zoe was told the devastating news that Elsie's organs were failing and she would not survive The mum-of-two added: “The main goal was to get me to Luton hospital where the foetal medicine team would assess the situation. When we got there, we were told we were being blue-lighted to King’s College Hospital in London the next day and it was touch and go whether my baby survived the night.

"We got the London to be told that Elsie’s blood count was two when the normal range is 14 to 24. We were told that had I gone to hospital a few hours later, she would have been a stillborn. While in the womb, doctors carried out two blood transfusions to the umbilical chord to try and save Elise’s life from over a period of two weeks.

"We were told the treatment was working but not as well as they had hoped and I was preparing to give birth to a stillborn." Zoe began to suffer from mirror syndrome which meant that she also contracted a number of Elsie’s symptoms, including heart failure and liver problems.

Zoe discharged herself on July 20 to spend time at home with her elder daughter as it was likely her baby would be stillborn - but she went into labour that day. The team managed to deliver Elsie and ventilated her upon delivery but Zoe was still told that it would be a few hours wait to see if she would survive.

The family spent 14 weeks in hospital - including six weeks at Leicester Royal Infirmary - where Elsie fought for her life. Despite having been born at 27 weeks due to a placental abruption, Elsie is now 15 months old and has begun to crawl. Elsie still has parvovirus in her blood but is asymptomatic and not contagious. Doctors are still waiting on the results of further tests if her immune system is compromised.

Zoe said: “Regulations need to be changed and women need to be offered these blood tests. Slapped cheek is on the rise and nobody realises how dangerous it is to pregnant women and their children. It’s unbelievable that guidelines still exist that tell parents that they can send their children to school with slapped cheek."