A mother whose newborn son nearly died from a respiratory illness is urging other pregnant women to get vaccinated.
Fiona Walker's son Ethyan was born six weeks premature at University Hospital Wishaw and contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shortly after his birth.
The illness caused bronchiolitis, leading to a life-threatening situation that required Ethyan to be placed on a breathing machine in the intensive care unit at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.
Fiona who is from Larkhall, believes that had she received the RSV vaccine while pregnant, her son would have avoided the trauma.
She said: "I had never heard of RSV before Ethyan was diagnosed and seeing him so ill was really awful.
"He was struggling to breathe and his little heart was not coping.
"He had to have help breathing and was in a special incubator that was kept at a steady temperature.
"He had little tubes everywhere and was under constant watch by the staff.
"Luckily he pulled through and is thriving but he was a really unwell baby for over a week."
Ethyan is now eight weeks old.
Fiona believes she had RSV a few weeks before giving birth and that was how it was passed to Ethyan.
For more information about the RSV vaccine, go to https://tinyurl.com/22dtr3w9.
Adrian Sie, a paediatric consultant who cared for Ethyan, supports the vaccination of pregnant women over 28 weeks.
He said: “RSV is a common and highly infectious respiratory virus but most people don’t know that in young babies it can cause life threatening illness.
“It is the number one reason for children and young people in Lanarkshire to end up in intensive care, and has been for at least the last 10 years.
"There is only so much we can do to help.
"Ethyan was just one example of the many babies we see every year who become very poorly, very quickly.
"Thankfully he has recovered and is doing extremely well."
The RSV vaccine is currently being offered to all pregnant women over 28 weeks.
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