Zika Outbreak Making Brazil’s Expecting Mothers Wary

With the widespread outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil's Sao Paulo, pregnant women are increasingly becoming concerned about their babies' health conditions.

The Zika virus is a suspected cause of more than 4,000 cases of microcephalus in Brazil, and posing a big threat to the health of both mothers and their unborn babies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency on Monday.

Vanessa, a 33-year-old teacher of Sao Paulo Middle School, is eight months pregnant. She shared her fear on learning about the virus in the first phase of her pregnancy.

"When I came to know about the Zika virus, I was already three or four months into my pregnancy. I was very anxious as the possibility of getting infected by the virus was at its peak around that time of my pregnancy. I could read reports on Zika everywhere. As first, I was too afraid to even step out as I had less knowledge of what was actually going on and how the Zika virus became such an epidemic. But with doctors offering me suggestions and notices, I started feeling less and less worried," said Vanessa.

Since May, 2015, the number of microcephalus cases has increased sharply in Brazil as the Zika virus began to spread in Latin America. Moreover, the virus had an incubation period and there was no detection method of it.

"Had I known about the virus before pregnancy, I would have postponed by pregnancy till after the epidemic. I've heard about several cases of microcephalus in new born babies," Vanessa said.

As a PE teacher, Vanessa loves sports and travelling. The Brazilian Carnival is coming up soon, however, Vanessa will be staying indoors.

Now, Vanessa stays at home every day. She applies mosquito repellent on her body and take other precautionary measures to avoid getting infected by the virus. Meanwhile, Vanessa consults her doctor regularly to keep a check on her baby’s health.

"Now, I see the doctor twice every month for regular antenatal examination, which checks the size of the baby’s head and body. If it is within the average range, it means the baby is fine. It is very healthy now," she said.

Ninety percent of the babies with microcephalus are born with abnormal growth in their brain and normal function is often poor. Compared to the mothers with babies having microcephalus, Vanessa is very lucky. But she said that she would not feel relieved till she finds out if her baby is healthy.

"When my child grows up, I will share my experience during pregnancy. Everything is fine and we have made fully preparations for him. I will be very happy if my child is born healthy," she added.
More on: http://newscontent.cctv.com/NewJsp/news.jsp?fileId=340219

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