Although the Ministry of Health (MOH) has advised women to delay becoming pregnant for the next six to 12 months, and has appealed to those already pregnant to take extra care to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes due to the link between the Zika virus (ZIKV) and microcephaly — a condition where the infant has an abnormally small head associated with underdevelopment of the brain — Dr Sandra Knight has said that many women of fertility age are not taking the messages seriously.

“I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t think the message has hit home hard yet, because when I listen to the comment of the ladies, they are more like ‘Wow, what? An advisory? That sounds extreme.’ Those are the comments I am hearing, so I’m not getting the feeling that they are taking it as serious as they ought to and I think they should,” said Dr Knight, chair of the National Family Planning Board (NFPB).

“I have not seen an increase in the anxiety of mothers. I’m not saying there isn’t, but I really have not seen it. Not even in my private practice do I get the feeling that women are a bit more anxious about having babies, and women who are attending our clinical services, I don’t find that they are more anxious,” Dr knight added.

The NFPB head further advised women to exercise caution and not wait until the virus reaches Jamaica to heed the warnings.

But Dr Daryl Daley, an obstetrician-gynaecologist (Ob/gyn), said his observation is that women from different classes of society have different reactions to the ministry’s advisory.

“The virus is relatively new, and what I find is that the five or six patients with advanced pregnancies who I see in my private practice have been calling me and asking about the Zika virus and what effect it will have on them, but in the public system it seems to me that a lot of the women are approaching it in a laissez-faire manner,” Dr Daley said.

“Today (Friday) I was seeing a patient at the hospital and she said, ‘Doctor, I don’t care about any CHIKV, ZIKV or ‘dickv’. Right now is a child I want.’ Another said she has three girls and she wants her boy. So it’s kind of interesting how the variations in caution are across the different classes,” Dr Daley shared.

The Ob/gyn said it is not an easy task telling people not to procreate, as it is a natural act, but emphasised that when the virus comes, if a pregnant woman is infected, she needs to quickly inform her Ob-gyn so that she can be classified as a high-surveillance pregnancy and assessed.

“Most viruses will cause problems in pregnancies, but once you know you’re infected, let your Ob/gyn know so you can be assessed and they can pick up if the foetus has it,” he advised, adding that “the first sign is a baby not growing”.

He said that heeding the advice of the MOH will not be easy for many women. However, when the virus comes it will be pandemonium and people may then, with the help of public education, understand its full implications.

Moreover, another ob-gyn, Dr Anna-Kay Taylor Christmas, said that while she gets the sense of fear from her patients, pregnant women and those of child-bearing age need to be more vigilant as the cases are edging closer to Jamaica. She added that anxiety and stress can adversely affect pregnancy outcomes, so to decrease stress levels and protect themselves women should do their best to follow the advice of the MOH.

On a visit to one clinic in Kingston by the Jamaica Observer, some pregnant mothers gave mixed reactions to the pending Zika virus and said while they are indeed worried, the most they can do is hope to give birth before the virus comes to the island.

One woman, who is five months pregnant, said: “When I really think about it, I’m almost six months pregnant. If I can deliver a healthy baby at seven months, I’d rather that than going full term only to have this virus interfere with my health and the baby’s health.”

However, there were a few who said they were not worried.

“Honestly miss, right now me cannot stress out myself. There are many times contraceptives fail people, so if I get pregnant I’ll just have to go through with it,” said 26-year-old Deborah Simms.

“Anything a anything. You can’t allow diseases to frighten you out of living your life,” said another female who opted not to be named.

Others confessed that though fearful, they did not fully understand the problems associated with getting pregnant within the next six to 12 months.

“I’m afraid ’cause CHIKV did me terrible, but I don’t quite understand what will happen with ZIKV. Is it that the baby cannot recover?” asked a woman who gave her name only Shan.

Another woman, who said her name was Anastacia, said: “I just want more research to be done. I’m hearing about the complications, but it’s a bit hard to ask me not to become pregnant. What happens if my contraceptive fails?

At a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House last week, Health Minister Horace Dalley stated that there is a link between ZikVand microcephaly, which has been observed in more cases of women being infected during the first months of pregnancy. He further stated that babies who develop the condition in the womb may not live full term, may be born prematurely, may be still born, or may survive but with lifelong disability.

Dalley also announced last week that the NFPB will soon begin increased public education with respect to guiding people as to how they can delay pregnancy and contraceptive options available to them.

Regarding the statement, Dr Knight said that in most cases women of fertility age who visit the clinics receive comprehensive contraceptive education. However, it has been scaled up to provide more options.

“The board has procured more options for contraceptives, and so we need to get the word out. We had a meeting on Tuesday and we’ll be having a meeting with the regional heads, the regional technical directors, the nurses, and we also plan to make public announcements to the media about the options that are available for contraceptives. So we are hoping that in another couple of weeks everybody will be well equipped and knowledgeable about the contraceptive options to them,” she said.

Of note, Dr Knight also appealed to women that despite their contraceptive choice, they need to ensure that they also use a condom, as a compromised immune system places one at greater risk for more severe symptoms of the virus.

“Even though you have an intrauterine device in, or you’re taking the pill or injection or whatever means of contraception, you have to use a condom. It’s not only about preventing pregnancy but HIV and STIs. So if you’re not pregnant but you’re coming with the STIs, the gonorrhea and the HIV, you are still a high risk patient if you get the Zika virus,” she said.