I discovered to have acquired a primary CMV infection. I and my husband were informed about the serious risk of damages to the fetus, that no treatments were available and that we hade the choice between an abortion within week 12 or continue the pregnancy doing ultrasounds and amniocentesis at week 20 to evaluate if CMV has been transmitted. After deep thoughts we decided to go ahead and by internet we learnt about Prof. Giovanni Nigro who practices in Rome infusions with hyperimmunoglobulins as therapy against CMV during pregnancy. Therefore I started at week 11 and then every two weeks until the amniocentesis which fortunately was negative! After those infusions, I had other two (in total seven infusions) and I’ve never had any side effect.
Our beautiful daughter Matilde was born on April 27th 2020, perfectly healthy, the virus hasn’t crossed the placenta, it was the greatest joy ever felt! Keeping uncertainty and fear under control for almost 9 months it wasn’t easy. We will never stop thanking Prof. Nigro, without whom the treatment would not be possible and we sincerely hope that immunotherapy will be accessible to everyone through the national health systems.
Francesca Dondi