A mother from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is warning people not to kiss babies after her newborn son was left fighting for his life with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Tilly-Rose Murtha gave birth to Vinnie in December, but days later he was back in hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma.
Rapid breathing and feeding problems
Tilly-Rose called an ambulance just days after bringing Vinnie home from hospital as he started breathing rapidly and wasn't feeding well. Doctors said the three-week-old had RSV, a common cause of coughs and colds, which triggered a chest infection and then pneumonia that caused a collapsed lung.
Vinnie, who also contracted viral meningitis, was put into a medically-induced coma to give his tiny body the chance to fight off the infections. RSV can be serious for babies and older adults, and in babies it can lead to bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is typically spread through coughs and sneezes by someone who has the virus.
Three-month hospital stay
Heartbreaking snaps show the tot wearing an oxygen mask and surrounded by wires during his three-month hospital stay. Tilly-Rose, who is unsure how Vinnie contracted RSV, is warning people not to kiss babies as the virus can be passed on that way.
Tilly-Rose said: "It was awful. He was having breathing apnoea where he would hold his breath for 16 seconds and then rapidly breathe. He was only home for a week and two days before he was back in the hospital. He came back positive for RSV and enterovirus [viral meningitis]."
She added: "They said that if he didn't improve within half an hour then he would be incubated on life support. In less than half an hour they realised it wasn't going to work so he was taken down to a treatment room and incubated. He was three weeks old and slightly premature so he was really, really tiny."
Recovery and awareness
Vinnie was eventually discharged from hospital on March 27 2026 and is now doing well. Tilly-Rose says she isn't sure exactly when Vinnie caught RSV but wants to raise awareness of the potential dangers of kissing babies.
She said: "We were preparing for the worst. You just felt out of control of things basically, not knowing what was going to happen. We're not even 100% sure how Vinnie caught the RSV. From transporting a baby from the hospital back home for a week over Christmas, he caught it."
"I saw that it was RSV season and I just thought it was really important to remind people to not kiss babies. I know it's exciting when you have a new baby, family come around and visit. I know everybody wants to cuddle the baby, and that's fine, but just keep in mind if anyone has been poorly or feeling a bit under the weather, just take that extra precaution."
She concluded: "The photos of Vinnie are obviously very triggering and upsetting but I wanted to show the world that this is the position you could land a little baby in. The kiss isn't for the baby, the kiss is for them."
