WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS CONTENT WHICH SOME MAY FIND DISTRESSING
Riley Hughes was a beautiful baby boy, but, when he was just a few weeks old, he developed a nasty cough - which quickly worsened.
His loving parents rushed him to hospital, where they were told he had whooping cough.
Tragically, nothing could be done to save Riley; the little boy died when he was just 1 month old.
Catherine, Riley’s grieving mother, has since shared a powerful warning on Facebook.
She wrote: “These are the final videos of our beautiful son Riley who passed away from whooping cough on the 17th of March, 2015.
“I have always kept these videos to myself, as it makes my blood run cold listening to my beautiful boy cough like that. But we are sharing this in the hopes that it will convince just one more pregnant Mum to protect their baby from this disease.
“I wish I had known about pregnancy vaccination when I was pregnant with Riley.”
Please be aware that the following video, which chronicles Riley’s cough before he was hospitalised, through his time in intensive care, and ultimately before he died, is difficult to watch.
However the Hughes family have shared it in a big to help other parents recognise the dangerous symptoms in their children, before it’s too late.
[The cough that killed Riley Hughes](https://www.facebook.com/lightforriley/videos/1538734389770670/)
*Warning - contains content that some may find distressing*These are the final videos of our beautiful son Riley who passed away from whooping cough on the 17th of March, 2015.I have always kept these videos to myself, as it makes my blood run cold listening to my beautiful boy cough like that. But we are sharing this in the hopes that it will convince just one more pregnant Mum to protect their baby from this disease. I wish I had known about pregnancy vaccination when I was pregnant with Riley.In the beginning, Riley didn't have a "whoop" sound in his cough, but it certainly developed once he was in hospital. If your newborn baby has a cough, and is too young to be vaccinated, please get them checked out by a doctor! Early intervention CAN help.I loved being Riley's Mum for those four weeks. I wish it were longer. Please share to help ensure no more babies die from this disease, which I hope one day will be relegated to the history books.- Riley's Mum x
Posted by [Light for Riley](https://www.facebook.com/lightforriley/) on Wednesday, 6 January 2016
The early symptoms of whooping cough:
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dry, irritating cough
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runny or blocked nose
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sneezing
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watering eye
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sore throat
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slightly raised temperature
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feeling generally unwell
Opening up about her loss, Catherine has shared a stark warning to parents everywhere.
It read: “In the beginning, Riley didn't have a ‘whoop’ sound in his cough, but it certainly developed once he was in hospital.
“If your newborn baby has a cough, and is too young to be vaccinated, please get them checked out by a doctor!
“Early intervention CAN help.”
She finished powerfully: “I loved being Riley's Mum for those four weeks. I wish it were longer.
“Please share to help ensure no more babies die from this disease, which I hope one day will be relegated to the history books.”
Catherine and her husband have since become advocates for vaccinating against the cough during pregnancy as they believe it could have saved their son's life.
The NHS also support the vaccination, saying: “Young babies with whooping cough are often very unwell and most will be admitted to hospital because of their illness. When whooping cough is particularly severe, they can die.
“Pregnant women can safely help protect their babies by getting vaccinated – ideally when they are 28-32 weeks pregnant, although they may be given the vaccine up to 38 weeks of pregnancy.”