Zika Virus Epidemic Affects Couple's Plans on Pregnancy

Zika Virus has caused some concerns to parents who would want to conceive at around this time and season. This is very important to note nowadays as Zika Virus reportedly causes birth defects in infants.

According to The Huffington Post, a number of couples are grappling with the possibility of catching the virus. Some of them postponing their plans of getting pregnant in order to keep them and their future offspring safe.  

As of this time, around 300 pregnant women are being monitored closely and are being tested for Zika. The organization that spearheads this campaign is The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No cases of virus contracted in the country thus far, but the experts are still cautious regarding the issue. They believe it will only be a matter of time for the virus to penetrate the country.

The concern lies mostly in the understanding of the scientist regarding the disease. There are men who are not yet worried but it is the women who are more concerned. One of the Buzzfeed correspondent Ali Watkins told her story in her personal account about being infected with the virus. She got it in Mexico and she believes that advice these couples are getting is contradictory.

According to Watkins, she was told by her doctor that because she has contracted the virus, she cannot be pregnant for three years. The CDC, however, said that women will only have to wait eight weeks (6 weeks for men) before trying to conceive. It seems to her the scientist don't even know how the disease exactly stayed in her system.

The good thing for American couples is that because there is no medical group that has ever said that couples should put their pregnancy goals on hold. The US is in a much better situation regarding this Zika virus epidemic than those countries that have been hit hard by the disease, where their health officials do not even know what to tell their women but to just simply wait.

Still unsure what the Zika virus is? Here is a video that explains the epidemic. 

 

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