Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation main page

Public Awareness and Vaccine Research Support. Working Together to Eradicate Congenital CMV Disease.
Member of the External Partner Group, in conjunction with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities (NCBDDD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation |

The Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to The
Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to for CMV,
and to affect change in the medical community so that physicians will begin to test women raising
public awareness about congenital CMV, to raise donations to support research for a vaccine for
CMV prior to pregnancy. Ultimately, our mission is to save babies yet to be born from suffering the
often devastating consequences of congenital CMV by eradicating this common but potentially
life-altering virus.

In Loving Memory of...

Jenna Hope
Stillborn June 23, 2009

I was sixteen years old when I became pregnant. As you can imagine, this was a shock to my
family and I, but I embraced my daughter as if it were a planned pregnancy. I loved her the
second I knew she existed and I planned to keep her and raise her, no matter how hard it
would be. When I was 23 weeks pregnant the doctor noticed many abnormal things on the
ultrasound. Her intestines were glowing (which meant they were as hard as bone), there was
not enough blood flow to her umbilical cord or to her brain, the placenta was too large, and
she was 2 weeks behind in her growth. My mom and I decided it would be best to get an
amniocentesis to figure out what was wrong with my daughter. The amniocentesis showed
that both my daughter and I were infected with CMV. I did research non-stop to find ways I
could save my baby girl but I felt helpless.

The doctors gave me no hope that she would survive but I continued to hope and pray. I
named her Jenna Hope for this reason. The doctors told me that if I stopped feeling her
moving I should go to the hospital immediately to make sure she was still alive. I went to the
hospital twice because I didn't feel her move all day. They found a heartbeat both times.

On June 22nd 2009 I went in for an ultrasound to see how Jenna was doing. They couldn't
find a heartbeat. The next day, on June 23rd 2009, she was stillborn at 26 weeks gestation.
She weighed exactly 1 pound and she was 10 1/2 inches long. Her little feet and hands were
only an inch long. That day was the hardest day of my life, holding my lifeless baby girl.

My world changed when she was brought into my life and my world changed again when she
was taken out of it. We had a bereavement photographer come in and take pictures of us
with her for hours before I had to say my final goodbye. I have many beautiful pictures of her
and I have been changed for the better because of this experience. I am now 18 years old
and I am helping to raise awareness for CMV. I now aspire to become a NICU nurse to help
families with sick babies.

Submitted by her mom, Kylie