Viral Meningitis & Apneas

[strandedhope]

My baby is now 2.5 weeks old but at 4 days old I took him in to hospital with jaundice as he was barely awake or feeding. Whilst in he had an apnea/pause in breathing & was taken to NNU where he stayed for a week. Diagnosed with viral meningitis. He is home now. He was born by elective C section at 39+1.

I'm terrified to take him anywhere incase he picks up an infection, despite being told by Consultants his immune system is now better in theory than most babies of his age.

Has anyone been through this with their newborn & come out the other side? Would also be interested to hear if apneas were also a symptom if your LO had viral Meningitis.

Thank you x

*bump

You poor thing OP - hugely stressful for you and I imagine something that has unsuprisingly massively knocked your confidence.

Apnoeas are by no means unusual in unwell neonates and are quite a non-specific sign so will be associated with many different illnesses / clinical conditions in this age group. I have certainly seen them professionally in infants with meningitis / sepsis, so not an unusual finding here. Was it a run of apnoeas or ‘just’ (and I don’t mean this flippantly) the one?

Personally (and this is just my opinion) at this young age (under one month and having been hospitalised) I wouldnt be carting him off to a plethora of softplays / busy indoor locations if I could avoid it. But I fully appreciate that the ease of this to live by will depend slightly on whether this is your first baby or not. I would also make sure that visitors wash hands before holding him (as I would suggest with any newborn) and avoid coming if they have any signs of illness themselves. I say this more to protect YOU from the stress of yet more illness /
disruption, not because your baby is inherently more at risk of picking things up.

Be very gentle with yourself OP, and have a low threshold for seeking help from your health visitor and GP if you find yourself suffering from anxiety / trauma from this longer term. You have been through alot and it will take time to process.

And in terms of your fears of ’taking him anywhere’ - totally understandable, but it will do him and you good to have walks in the pram outdoors (even in the rain and wind as long as he is bundled up) and trips out to break up the day. I’d have no qualms about doing a supermarket shop with him say, having a cup of tea in a cafe, visiting with family /
friends that sort of thing. It would mainly just be softplays / swimming pools and similar I’d avoid. Sorry if that is confusing.

Hey @Puddlelane123 thank you for your replies.

Is there a reason you say best to not visit such places? I mean I doubt I will be, but I only ask as we were told by Consultants that I could take him anywhere I liked.

He had a few apnoeas (apologies for spelling mistake in original post) over the course of 4 days. No more than 4 a day I think.

I worry about him having apnoeas again if he gets poorly but have been told he only had them due to the fact he was a newborn taking on such a nasty virus, not your standard cough or cold. I'm just worried about everything. He is my second & my first was also an NNU baby also.

Not suprising you are worried! He won’t be more ‘at risk’ of picking up stuff having been in hospital, I would just be cautious of very crowded venues because there are likely to be more germs circulating and personally I imagine you don’t need the additional worry and stress of another episode of illness so soon after this one. But that aspect is not a medical opinion, more a mum opinion (and I am at the more cautious end of the spectrum it must be said!). If he catches another bug or virus he will be just as able to fight it off as any other baby so don’t worry from that point of view. And having an older sibling he will swiftly develop a nice strong immune system! I was moreso thinking of your own stress levels. But I also know that older siblings need amusing so if you need to get out about there is no harm in that.

I agree that the Apnoeas were likely specific to the particular set of circumstances and unlikely to recur with a regular low grade illness, especially as he gets bigger and stronger.

If you don’t take him to places his immune system will weaken. To strengthen it you need to expose him to plenty of germs. Please don’t stop mixing with others. He will be fine. Listen to the advice of your consultant paediatrician- a medically qualified expert - your baby’s immune system is great.

Hi my daughter had central sleep aponea. She has had it since birth. It’s terrifying.