// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
Mum told to prepare for 'worst' urges others to get respiratory illness vaccine
Jo Goldsmith is advising pregnant women to take up the vaccine
A woman whose newborn daughter became ill after catching a potentially serious respiratory illness is urging other pregnant women to make sure they are vaccinated against it.
Jo Goldsmith said she was told to prepare for the "worst" after her daughter Phoebe contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) a few days after being born.
The vaccine was not available at the time of her pregnancy, but she said she "definitely would have had it".
"I wouldn't want any family to go through what we went through," she said.
Nerys Evans, Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health, is also urging people to make sure they are vaccinated against Covid-19, flu and RSV ahead of the winter months.
RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds,, external and although infections usually get better by themselves, they can sometimes be serious for babies and older adults, according to the NHS.
RHS vaccinations were introduced in Wales in September 2024.
Phoebe was five days old when she was diagnosed with RSV positive bronchiolitis on Christmas Eve
Goldsmith, a children's nurse and health visitor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said that when Phoebe was born four years ago, she realised within days that something was wrong.