Source: In Florida, Pregnant Women Cover Up and Stay Inside Amid Zika FearsMIAMI — Amanda Paradiz is 16 weeks pregnant, and she has a mission: to get through her entire pregnancy without a single mosquito bite.
It hasn’t been easy. Ever since health officials in July announced four cases of Zika transmission by local mosquitoes detected in a Miami-area neighborhood, Mrs. Paradiz and her husband, Alex, have largely secluded themselves in their Broward County home. They canceled a vacation, and stopped taking evening strolls around the lake and swimming in the neighborhood pool. To walk the dog, Mrs. Paradiz, 35, throws on long pants and a hoodie, even though it’s 90 degrees outside. She’s debating quitting her job as a sales rep, to avoid coming into contact with a mosquito that might carry the Zika virus, which can lead to devastating birth defects, including an abnormally small head, called microcephaly.
“All it takes is one mosquito bite to change the entire course of our lives,” Mrs. Paradiz said
Birth is not going to go exactly as you had imagined, planned, or expected. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to be your own best advocate in the delivery room.
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