Grieving Iowa Mom Nicole Sifrit Warns: Don’t Let People Touch Your Newborn Baby

Grieving mom from Iowa, Nicole Sifrit, issues a warning to parents of newborns not to let other kiss or touch them. She shares this reminder after her almost 3-week old baby girl dies from an infection possibly contracted from an adult who kissed her. She broke the news about baby Mariana on Facebook on July 18.

According to a KTLA5 report, the baby was placed on life support when her condition worsened. She was diagnosed with meningitis HSV-1 on July 6, barely a week after she was born.

Be Very Careful With Newborn Babies

Nicole Sifrit and her husband Shane welcomed baby Mariana on July 1. They were married on July 6, but had to cut short their celebration when they noticed their baby was no longer feeding and was not responding. She was then brought to the hospital.

After diagnostic tests, doctors concluded that she caught the herpes or cold sore virus that caused meningitis. Since both parents did not carry the virus, the doctors also said that the baby may have caught it from another adult carrier. Adults may carry the virus but not be symptomatic.

According to Nicole, somebody may have touched or kissed her baby, even on her hands. Then her baby would put her hands in her mouth, thus passing the virus through her system. Because of what happened, she warns others: “”Keep your babies isolated, don’t let just anyone come visit them, and make sure they are constantly washing their hands. Don’t let people kiss your baby, and make sure they ask before they pick up your baby,” according to another KTLA5 report.

First Two Months Are Crucial

According to a pediatrician who was interviewed by KTLA, the first two months of a newborn is crucial. Because their immune systems are not yet fully developed, parents need to be very careful about possibly exposing their child to infections. Handling newborn babies requires constant and proper washing of hands and constant disinfecting.