According to the HealthDay News, CMV risk can be significantly reduced when a drug called hyperimmune globin is used as it can keep the virus from being passed onto an unborn baby. CMV can be a dangerous virus for unborn babies and infants but is not usually dangerous to adults and children. By the age of 30, according to the March of Dimes, about half of the US population have contracted the virus. Hyperimmune globin gives a pregnant mother’s immune system a boost to fight the virus.
Approximately one percent of all babies are born with CMV infection which can cause serious neurological problems including death. If a woman is infected during pregnancy, she has a 40% chance of passing the virus on to her newborn. There is currently no effective treatment of CMV.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and according to Dr. Patrick Duff (co-author of the study), more studies need to be done to confirm these findings.
It’s news to me that Sweden offers new fathers maternity leave for as long as 240 days with a paycheck backed by the government. What’s even more of a surprise to me is that the law has been in effect since 1974 so that fathers and mothers can share bonding with their children during their early years. If a father doesn’t want to take the leave from work, he has to take at least two months off in order to receive that government check.