Dr. Santoro weighs in on Zika birth defects and international calls for women to avoid pregnancy
Hopeful parents are questioning if now is a good time to be seeking out fertility treatments. With the growing concern of Zika-related birth defects, many women have been urged by doctors to hold off on conception.
Dr. Nanette Santoro, professor of reproductive endocrinology at the University of Colorado, encourages parents to consider the potential effects of contracting the Zika virus during pregnancy.
“A woman who gets infected and is pregnant will wind up being monitored for her entire pregnancy,” says Dr. Santoro. “If the baby looks affected, she is then facing delivering a child who will likely be extremely mentally handicapped and face a very short life span, or she will be facing terminating a pregnancy fairly late in the course of gestation.”