[ReproductiveHealth/FAMILIA/mchhead.htm]
   
Public Charge: What You Need to Know


MCAH Programs


Contact Information

Los Angeles County
Department of Public Health
Maternal, Child, & Adolescent Health Programs

600 S. Commonwealth Ave.,
8th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 639-6400
Fax: (213) 639-1034
Zika Information on Protecting Your Pregnancy

Are you and your partner expecting a baby? Are you and your partner planning to have a baby? Zika virus infection during pregnancy has been linked to microcephaly and other birth defects. Read on to learn how to keep your baby safe from Zika during the pregnancy.

Delay travel
Zika can cause severe birth defects
If you may have been exposed to Zika, get tested

Delay Travel

Photo of pregnant womanThere is no local transmission of Zika in Los Angeles County. Pregnant women are safe from Zika here. Zika virus is spreading in Mexico and Central and South America.                                      

If you are pregnant, do not travel to areas with Zika. Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus and can cause severe birth defects. The best thing to do is wait until after your baby is born to travel to an area with Zika.

If you are pregnant and you have traveled to a Zika-affected country, talk to your doctor and get tested right away!

Zika can cause severe birth defects

March of Dimes infographic
Source:
http://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/zika-virus-and-pregnancy.aspx 

Congenital Zika Syndrome is a pattern of birth defects found among fetuses and babies infected with Zika virus during pregnancy.

Photo of Congenital Zika SyndromeThe effects of Zika that are passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus may include:

  1. Small head size (microcephaly)
  2. Brain damage and/or seizures
  3. Vision problems
  4. Hearing loss
  5. Problems moving limbs and body
  6. Problems with feeding (difficulty swallowing)

Not all babies born with Congenital Zika Syndrome will have problems. Some healthy-appearing infants with Congenital Zika Syndrome may have symptoms later in age.

If you may have been exposed to Zika, get tested

You may have been exposed to Zika if you have traveled to an area with Zika or had sex with someone who traveled to an area with Zika. You can be infected with Zika, even if you do not have any symptoms!

Here are some tips on Zika for men and women on traveling, sex, and visiting your doctor.

Pregnant? Read this before you travel Pregnancy + Travel Source: https://www.cdc.gov/pregnancy/ zika/pregnancy/documents/ZIKA-PregnancyTravel.pdf
Information for men who have pregnant partners and have traveled to an area with risk of Zika Pregnancy + Sex Source: https://www.cdc.gov/pregnancy/ zika/pregnancy/documents/mensex withpregpartners.pdf
Topics that pregnant women who have visited a Zika-affected country can talk to their doctor about Doctor's Visit Checklist Source: https://www.cdc.gov/pregnancy/ zika/pregnancy/documents/DocVisit-Checklist-TravelPreg.pdf
 

Pregnant women who have traveled to an area with Zika or who live in an area with Zika should talk to their healthcare provider, even if they do not feel sick. Click here for more information about Zika testing for pregnant women.

 

More Information:
 
Apps: 
 
Blogs:
 

References 

Doctor’s Visit Checklist. (2016, October 14). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/zika/pdfs/docvisit-checklist-travelpreg.pdf

Infant Feeding in Areas of Zika Virus Transmission. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK374141/

Microcephaly & other birth defects. (2017, April 26). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/zika/healtheffects/birth_defects.html

Pregnant Women (2017, May 3). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/protect-yourself.html

Contraception. (2017, February 09). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/index.htm  

Russell K, Oliver SE, Lewis L, et al. Update: Interim Guidance for the Evaluation and Management of Infants with Possible Congenital Zika Virus Infection — United States, August 2016. MMWR Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report 65(870–878). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6533e2

Zika Virus Testing For Any Pregnant Woman Not Living In An Area With Zika. (2016, August 10). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/pregnancy/zika/pregnancy/documents/ PregnantTestNotInArea.pdf

 

 

Revised: 02/27/2024

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