Mums heartbreaking warning after baby falls desperately ill

It seems like the most natural thing in the world, but kissing a newborn bub is actually extremely dangerous.

One new mum, Nicole Sifrit, has learnt this in the most harrowing of ways, after her seven-day-old daughter Maraina contracted the herpes virus at her wedding – and is now desperately fighting for her life.

“We noticed that she had stopped eating and wasn’t waking up when we tried to get her to respond,” Nicole said during an interview with WhoTV.

This month was supposed to be brimming with joy for the new parents, but just two hours after tying the knot, Nicole and her hubby Shane rushed little Mariana to hospital where doctors discovered she had Meningitis HSV1, a strain carried by someone with the cold sore virus.

While the common cold sore is a pesky and often embarrassing condition, it's realtively harmless for adults. But in new babies, it can prove to be deadly.

That’s because the virus spreads so easily, but a babies delicate immune system isn’t strong enough to fight it.

“She immediately went downhill, within hours she had quit breathing and all her organs had started to fail,” Nicole said, describing the horrific moment their precious girl was put on life support.

According to Healthline, infants in the first three to four weeks of life are at the highest risk for having severe symptoms from catching the herpes virus.

It can cause infection in the brain and lead to a whole heap of terifying issues, icluding seizures, fever, irritability, poor feeding, and very low energy. It usually does not present the visible cold sore we're all familiar with.

Both parents have since tested negative for the infection, meaning the bub probably contracted the virus from a wedding guest – most likely from something as innocent as a kiss!

But what’s even more concerning is that you don’t have to have an open sore to be contagious.

In fact, The Meningitis Research Foundation say many people carry the herpes simplex virus without ever realising they have it, and you can pass it on without ever having any active symptoms.

Maraina's condition is currently 'dire' and her doctors can’t say if she’ll pull through.

Maraina's condition was 'dire' but her terrified parents took time out from her hospital bedside to share an important message.

“Don’t let anyone kiss your baby” Nicole warns.

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Thankfully, herpes infections are not usually so dangerous once the baby is a few months old and adopting healthy hygiene practices when around newborns will help prevent the spreading of germs.

Mariana’s family are fundraising to help cover the cost of her treatment on GoFundMe

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