Essex mum says baby's RSV was a "traumatising" experience as her daughter's face went blue
Chloe Faraway's daughter was born prematurely
Last updated 13th Nov 2025
An Essex mum has told us her daughter's RSV was a "traumatising" experience.
60% of babies in England will contract RSV before their first birthday, and premature births are three times more likely to need hospital admission due to the virus.
Chloe Faraway's daughter's face went blue after difficulty breathing, she said:
"We had a little premature baby, she was born at 32 weeks, so obviously quite vulnerable.
"And then when she was three months old she got a bit fussy for a few days, started getting a little tickly cough, and then within 12 hours she was in hospital because she wasn't breathing for a good 4 to 5 seconds.
"And she wasn't eating, no wet nappies and stuff.
"Her face started going like blue where she was struggling to breath so much.
"It's traumatising to see that.
"They said that she was on day three of bronchiolitis, and it was going to get worse.
"They said they have had so many babies in with this illness, and as soon as they see her, they knew what it was straight away pretty much."
She said the doctors from Basildon Hospital were "amazing" and incredibly helpful.
Chloe and her husband "didn't sleep" for three days as they "didn't want to take her eyes off her."
"Just seeing when she would cough and she'd stop breathing, and you could see her in her eyes struggling.
"And you knew there was nothing you could do to kind of help her other than tap her back.
"It was a really emotional few days.
"It really did impact the whole family."
Chloe also said that the phrase "Don't kiss babies, it's RSV season" needs to have a "broader" context, as "people who have just a slight sniffle could pass on something that makes a baby really poorly."