This sheet is about exposure to insect repellents in a pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What are insect repellents? Insect repellents are lotions, sprays, or oils that are put on skin or clothing to lower the chance of bites from mosquitoes, flies, ticks, and spiders (“insects”). Insects can carry serious diseases such as malaria, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and Zika virus. Having any …
The Baby Blog: Zika Virus
Zika Virus
This sheet is about exposure to the Zika virus in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What is Zika? How do people get it? Zika is a virus that is usually spread by infected mosquitoes. Not all mosquitoes carry the Zika virus, and not every person bitten by an infected mosquito will get Zika. Other ways people can get Zika include sexual contact with an infected partner (vaginal, anal, or …
COVID-19, the Flu, and Zika: Considerations for Pregnancy in the Winter Travel Season
It’s that time of year again, when the holidays invite family gatherings, and colder, shorter days make us long for sunny destinations. Yes, the winter travel season is upon us! Remember winters past when COVID-19 wasn’t around and we’d never heard of Zika? When we didn’t give much thought to health concerns related to hopping on a plane or going to busy holiday venues? Things are different now. If you’re pregnant, you might pause before booking airline tickets or RSVPing “yes” to that extended …
DEET (N,N-ethyl-m-toluamide)
This sheet is about exposure to DEET in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What is DEET? DEET (N,N-ethyl-m-toluamide or m-DET) is the active ingredient in many common brands of insect repellent. It is the most effective and well-studied insect repellent ingredient on the market. DEET is particularly effective in preventing mosquito bites and tick attachments. MotherToBaby has a fact sheet …
Paternal Exposures
This sheet is about paternal exposures in a pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What is a “paternal exposure”? A paternal exposure is anything a male parent or sperm donor is exposed to before a pregnancy is conceived, while trying to conceive pregnancy, or after their partner is pregnant. This includes things such as substances of use (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, opioid misuse), …
