Traveling around the world invariably means that you are going to increase the chances of coming across some virus or pandemic and of course it is absolutely essential that you take all of the precautions that you possibly can. being pregnant in a time of Zika wasn’t something I had originally planned for, but there wasn’t much I could do, at least not in the short term, and pushing the baby out 6 months early seemed a bit of a wild idea.
I appreciate that not many will be going through this but here is what we know about pregnancy and the Zika virus.
What the Hell is Zika?
I thought the same, I had my malaria shots and some other vaccines ahead of hitting the road, then this new, sneaky b*stard rocks up, the virus, not the baby, and threatens to derail the whole thing:
According to March of Dimes, here is the breakdown of what Zika is.
“Zika is a virus that can cause serious problems during pregnancy. If you’re pregnant and infected with Zika virus, you can pass it to your baby. Zika infection during pregnancy causes a birth defect called microcephaly and other brain problems. It also may be linked to other serious problems for a baby.”
What Could Happen
There are reasons to be concerned about this because we are talking about a serious virus which can definitely cause harm to both you and the baby.
- If you happen get infected with Zika during pregnancy, it is possible that you pass it to your baby. This can often cause a birth defect which is called microcephaly and it can also result in other brain problems.
How Does This Spread
As you can probably guess, the worlds biggest killers, the mosquito, can pass on Zika from one person to the next. You can also contract this disease if you have sex with an infected person, which is why even if you are pregnant, having sex should still be done with a condom.
In order to prevent yourself getting infected it is a smart idea to not be in Zika hit areas, and if you are, such as myself, get the hell out of there as soon as you can. It is also recommended not to get pregnant if you are in such an area, a little late for me, and most importantly do all that you can to avoid mosquito bites. This means covering up, using repellents and making sure that you leave no still water lying around which will invite these horrible little monsters into your home.
Ultimately the key is to stay safe, be knowledgable and make sure that you are taking all of the necessary steps to keep yourself and your baby in the best health that you possibly can. I didn’t choose this and we are making plans to move on, if you do have a choice then there is nothing wrong with holding off for a while until this issue calms down.
