Mother urges parents to get RSV antibody for newborns after son’s harrowing experience – CBC

Eitan Cohn developed RSV at less than a month old, spent 2 weeks in hospital

Oct 14, 2025

A mother is sharing the devastation she felt watching her newborn son develop respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and urging Ontario parents to get a newly available preventative treatment for their babies.

RSV is a common virus that affects the lungs. It’s most prominent in children under the age of five, especially newborns, and can cause fever, irritability, breathing difficulties and decreased appetites.

“For a little baby that can’t cough it out, that can’t blow their nose, [it] can be catastrophic,” said Jessica Cohn, the mother of now 10-year-old Eitan.

When Cohn heard a muffled cough through the baby monitor when he was about three weeks old and noticed he wouldn’t settle down, she took him to CHEO, the children’s hospital in Ottawa.

That was where she was told he had RSV and his symptoms would likely get much worse.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/rsv-can-be-serious-in-infants-9.6937178