CMV is a little-known virus, yet more common than Down Syndrome or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Now that there is a state law addressing education and prevention of CMV (Cytomegalovirus), the Olivia Bailey Act can help to protect future Nebraska babies.

To that end, today Governor Pete Rickets held a ceremonial signing for a bill unanimously passed during this session of the Unicameral which contained several amendments concerning women and family health.

Known as LB-741, the bill addressed the need to collect data on stillborn babies and contained amendments concerning adoption, domestic abuse, and CMV prevention and education. The latter amendment was brought by three women whose lives have been deeply touched by CMV. All three testified on the bill.

Bellevue resident Kim Widner’s daughter Bailey was born in 2016 with congenital CMV but was not diagnosed until she turned four. Bailey became deaf in one ear, had a cochlear implant, and struggles with balance and developmental issues. Kearney resident Tricia Ridder’s daughter Olivia was delivered by emergency cesarean at 7 months when her OBGYN noticed some abnormalities in her pregnancy. Olivia died shortly after birth.

Widner and Ridder, together with Ridder’s mom, Mary Ridder of rural Callaway, met with Senator Patty Pansing Brooks and Health and Human Services Chair Senator John Arch and their staffs, and ultimately a bill was written and introduced by Senator Pansing Brooks. It was later amended into LB 741.

The passage of the CMV amendment means that Nebraska’s Health and Human Services agency will develop and disseminate educational materials to birthing centers and obstetricians, helping to inform new and would-be parents about the risks of CMV and how to prevent it as well as steps that can be taken if a baby is born with CMV.

Widner is the National CMV Foundation’s Nebraska CMV Community Alliance Chair as well as a board member of Nebraska Hands and Voices. Tricia Ridder took part in a national CMV golf fundraiser in Houston last summer. Both want parents to be informed about CMV and to know basic preventative measures.

Pregnant women should refrain from kissing children on their lips, and should wash their hands after feeding their babies, changing their diapers, and any other action where bodily fluids can be passed from child to pregnant woman. While an estimated 60% to 80% of the adult population is thought to have contracted CMV, it typically presents as a light cold in most persons. The highest risk is for pregnant women where CMV may be passed to their baby, possibly resulting in deafness, blindness, cerebral palsy, mental and physical disabilities, seizures, and death.

Representatives of the Ridder and Widner families with Governor Pete Ricketts at a ceremonial signing of the Olivia Bailey Act, also known as LB-741.