Women & Their Partners Trying to Become Pregnant

What We Know

• Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus.
• Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.
• Zika primarily spreads through infected mosquitoes. You can also get Zika through sex without a condom with someone infected by Zika, even if that person does not show symptoms of Zika.
• There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika.

How to Protect Yourself

CDC recommends precautions for women and their partners thinking about pregnancy.

• Learn about guidance for living in or traveling to areas with risk of Zika.
• Talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider before traveling to areas with risk of Zika and take steps to plan for travel.
• Consider avoiding nonessential travel to areas with a CDC Zika travel notice.

What To Do If You Travel to or Live In an Area with Risk of Zika

Travelers to an area with a CDC Zika travel notice

• Take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
• If the female partner was exposed to this area*, wait at least 8 weeks after the last possible exposure or after symptoms start (if she developed symptoms) before trying to conceive. During this waiting period, use condoms or do not have sex.
• If the male partner was exposed to this area*, wait at least 6 months after the last possible exposure or after symptoms start (if he developed symptoms) before trying to conceive. During this waiting period, use condoms or do not have sex.

Travelers to an area with risk of Zika but no CDC Zika travel notice

• Take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
• Because the level of risk in this area is unknown and information is limited about the risk of infection around the time of conception, talk with your healthcare provider about your plans for pregnancy, your travel plans, your risk of Zika virus infection, the possible health effects of Zika virus infection on a baby, and ways to protect yourself from Zika.
• If either of you develops symptoms consistent with Zika and/or test positive for Zika, you should follow the suggested timeframes above before trying to conceive.

If you have ongoing exposure (e.g., live in or frequently travel) to any area with risk of Zika, with or without a Zika travel notice

• Take steps to prevent mosquito bites.
• Because of your ongoing exposure to Zika, talk with your healthcare provider about your plans for pregnancy, your risk of Zika virus infection, the possible health effects of Zika virus infection on a baby, and ways to protect yourself from Zika.
• If you or your partner develops symptoms of Zika and test positive for Zika, you should follow the suggested timeframes above before trying to conceive.

Note: For women planning to become pregnant who might have been exposed to Zika previously, healthcare providers can consider testing for Zika antibodies before pregnancy. Antibody test results before pregnancy should not be used to determine if it is safe for a woman to become pregnant. Rather, testing before pregnancy can help determine whether a woman becomes infected during pregnancy.

Talk With Your Doctor or Other Healthcare Provider

Women and their partners who are thinking about pregnancy should talk with their doctor or healthcare provider about

• Their plans for having children
• The potential risk of getting Zika during pregnancy
• Their partner’s potential Zika exposures

Decisions about pregnancy planning are personal and complex, and the circumstances will vary for women and their partners. Women and their partners should discuss pregnancy planning with a trusted doctor or healthcare provider. As part of counseling with healthcare providers, some women and their partners living in areas with Zika might decide to delay pregnancy.

* Exposure means recent travel to this area or having sex without a condom with someone who lives in or traveled to this area.