A Southampton mum has urged pregnant women to get vaccinated after her own babies contracted a serious respiratory illness after being born.

As a new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme for mums launches from September, Christine Burlison has shared the story of how her son and daughter both contracted the respiratory condition as babies.

Christine’s daughter Aria was 11 days old when she began struggling to breathe and was hospitalised.

READ MORE: Man dies suddenly on Calshot Beach, police confirm

From left to right: Tom, Aria, Jude, and Christine Burlison (Image: UK Health Security Agency) Doctors said she had developed bronchiolitis, a blocking of the airways in the lungs, as a result of RSV.

The respiratory virus typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms but it can lead to severe lung infections like pneumonia and infant bronchiolitis, and is a leading cause of infant mortality globally.

Aria recovered, but after her little brother Jude was born, he also got RSV.

However this time the family knew how to spot the signs, and he was only in hospital for a few hours.

Aria when she was bornAria as a baby (Image: UK Health Security Agency) Christine said: “Now having the option of a vaccine that could prevent other families having to go through the same experiences as ours did is simply amazing.

"The most terrible thing that you can face as a parent is seeing your child struggling to breathe. 

“Knowing now that there is a vaccine that could remove all that worry and anxiety is just incredible.”

The UK Health Security Agency and Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation estimates the scheme could prevent 5,000 hospitalisations for infants in England.

It could also mean 70,000 fewer RSV illnesses in infants under 12 months, 20,000 fewer GP consultations and avoid more than 200 infants being admitted to intensive care units.

RSV illness is the main cause of winter pressures in children’s hospitals each year leading to pressure on paediatric intensive care units, including cancelled operations. 

It accounts for approximately 20,000 hospitalisations in children under the age of one and is responsible for 20 to 30 infant deaths a year in the UK.

Andrew Gwynn, minister for public health and prevention added: “Maternal vaccinations are crucial to protect newborns from life-threatening illnesses like RSV.”