The World Health Organization said Friday that it is not suggesting that women in Zika-infected areas delay pregnancy, clarifying a statement it made Thursday.
The United Nations’ health body did not intend to encourage people living in Central and South American countries where the Zika virus is spreading to delay pregnancy, said William Perea, the official overseeing Zika global health guidance. Rather, the guidance’s purpose was to ensure that people understand the health risks involved with pregnancy in areas with Zika outbreaks and were aware of their health options.
“WHO doesn’t want to make any of those options any more important than the other,” Perea said Friday. “Delaying pregnancy is among them, obviously, but it’s not the only one.”
Perea said the wording of the guidance was “misinterpreted” by news outlets, and the WHO reiterated its previous stance regarding pregnancy, which was that pregnancy was a personal matter for the parents to decide.
The guidance published on Thursday stated: “Men and women of reproductive age living in affected areas should be informed and orientated to consider delaying pregnancy.”
While the Zika virus normally causes a mild reaction in most people, it can cause microcephaly, a birth defect that causes brain damage. It also has been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis.
Almost 700 cases of Zika have been found in the U.S., but those are in people who traveled to Zika-infected countries or were in contact with someone who had recently been in those areas. Zika is not being transmitted through mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland, although officials are worried that will change as summer arrives.
