‘Don’t kiss my baby!’: Mum issues ‘dire’ warning about smooching newborn babies

“[We need to] ensure we keep our babies safe from this virus … it can have dire consequences,” Nikki shares in the video.

Alexandra Feiam

2 min read

June 20, 2023 - 2:00PM

Nikki shared her rules for friends and family meeting her newborn. Source: Instagram/tinyheartseducation

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It can be overwhelmingly tempting to give a newborn baby a squish and a kiss when you first see them.

And as parents, it’s also hard to resist giving your loved ones a chance to give affection to your baby.

But an Aussie mum is issuing a warning to parents about the dangers of giving newborns a smooch and why it can sometimes lead to the kiss of death.

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Kissing babies can have “dire consequences”

Nikki, the founder of Tiny Hearts Education and former paramedic, recently welcomed her third child. A few days after giving birth, Nikki woke to seven cold sores along her top lip.

Sharing the video on Instagram, she explained that they were the “worst outbreak of [her] life” and issued a warning about kissing a baby while infected.

She explained the importance of keeping “babies safe from this virus” as it “can have dire consequences for our precious newborns.”

Cold sores are the more commonly known term for a virus called herpes simplex virus (HSV-1).

These are usually small blisters that develop on the lips and around the mouth. According to Better Health, roughly 70 to 90 per cent of adults have antibodies in their bloodstream.

While blisters and ulcers are common symptoms of HSV-1, not everyone will experience the same symptoms after being infected and can go undetected.

“This is because the virus may be lying dormant in the skin cells of the lips,” the Better Health website read. This means someone who has the virus can infect someone else without realising.

Nikki shared her rules for friends and family meeting her newborn. Source: Instagram/tinyheartseducation

“No kissing the baby, please!”

For newborn babies, this can be especially dangerous.

It typically takes anywhere from two to three months for a baby’s immune system to start developing.

Essentially, the younger the baby, the more vulnerable they are to infection.

The most common way to transmit HSV-1 is with a kiss; even a simple peck on the lips is enough to spread the virus.

Symptoms to watch for include fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, blisters or ulcers around the mouth, nose and chin, and seizures.

Nikki urged parents to avoid letting others kiss newborn babies, as they “have little immunity to fight” the virus.

She also shared her “rules” for meeting her newborn, some of which include “no kissing baby, please” and “if you’re sick, stay away”.

She also asks guests to wash their hands before holding the newborn and advises them to not “show up unannounced”.

Other parents quickly backed up Nikki’s concerns. “Rule #1 ... never ever kiss a baby!” one mum agreed.

“My daughter ended up in hospital this year at age three from herpes simplex,” another added. “It was horrendous. She couldn’t drink, she had a high-grade fever, she had ulcers all down her throat.”

“Why parents and grandparents kiss kids on the lips is beyond me,” wrote another distressed mum.