Zika risk

Creedon778

Hey ladies. This is baby #3 for me and a surprise. DH was scheduled to get snipped in nov and moved it to Jan for personal reasons.

Anyway we just found out a couple days ago but have trips to Fort Lauderdale and Turks and Caicos this winter. We went ahead and cancelled t&c after reading the Zika risk on the CDC site but what do you think about Florida? I called my ob to ask his opinion and he said not to go. Ugh I'm in Massachusetts and need some sun and something to look forward to!

abmommy15

Personally I wouldn't go.  Zika scares the crap out of me and even a minor risk isn't worth it.  

awillis13

We're going to Disney in April but there have been zero cases of Zika in Orlando.  They have been concentrated to a handful of places in Dade county, but Ft. Lauderdale is much closer to that area than Orlando.  People get pregnant in FL all the time and manage to do just fine.  But I tend to be underreactive with these things.

KissMeImScottish

In my experience, OBs tend to be generally pretty leniant about travel and what not (Hell, I had gestational hypertension with my last but was allowed to fly from Rhode Island to Hawaii at 36 weeks). So if your OB says don't go, I honestly don't think I'd risk it because there's probably a good reason for the caution. Florida isn't going anywhere and zika is no joke. Also, it's not just you who's at risk. If your husband were to contract it, the virus can hang around in his semen for up to six months, which would put you and baby at risk any time you had sex and you'd probably never know he had it.

That said, the risk isn't astronomical in Florida (America in general is pretty good about controlling mosquito populations and, as far as my admittedly limited scope of awareness goes, the cases that have come from Florida directly are in the single digits). So it really comes down to how high you feel the risk actually is.

bostonlady-2

I'm also in Massachusetts and really need a place to go for the winter. We're desperately trying to find affordable sunny vacation options. We probably can't swing Hawaii, and def can't swing any islands near New Zealand or Asia. I've literally been looking for days, and it seems almost all other places that will be warmer than 80 degrees in January and have flights for less than a grand outside the states have Zika.

We thought about the Florida Keys and ultimately opted against it. I may have an irrational fear of Zika, but I thought even a very small risk wasn't worth it.

KissMeImScottish

@Bostonlady, I don't know what your budget is, but if you're flexible on dates, I can say from experience that getting to and from Hawaii doesn't have to cost a fortune. If you use Google Flights, you can often fine round trip tickets for under $750 per person. We're in the middle of moving home from Hawaii after living here the last 2.5 years and my husband is coming home with us for Christmas but has to go back in January for 3 weeks before coming home for good. His round trip ticket, which brackets Christmas and is therefore more expensive, is running us between $675 and $730 (I'm playing the price game right now and watching the flights). Always look at flight prices on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings, avoid weekends, and if you can swing traveling fro a Tuesday to a Tuesday or something like that, rather than weekend to weekend, midweek flights are always cheaper. (You can blame my 40,000+ miles travelled between Hawaii and Boston this year).

What's your budget per ticket? I may be able to make some suggestions.

lanie1000

I'm nervous, too. DH's family lives in Florida and it just so happens this is their year to have us over Xmas. They live in a Zika-free area near Orlando, but we'll be in Miami for about half a day. My plan is just to go overboard on the prevention (permethrin spray on our clothes and luggage, deet repellent, those bug-off bracelets, etc.), avoid the areas the CDC tells me to, and pray for the best. 

SpongeWorthy

FWIW, mosquitos aren't that bad in winter in Florida.  I went to Miami last year in February.  Even visited the Everglades and I didn't get bit once. I am a mosquito MAGNET.  I would say the risk is low, but if your OB is concerned I would think about it.  Have you thought about going somewhere on the west coast like San Diego or LA?

GoogleMD

Once the neural tube closes by the end of the 1st there isn't really much to be concerned about.

Creedon778

Thanks everyone. We haven't cancelled the tickets yet but I'm torn. I totally get that others are in Florida all the time having babies and there are very few cases. In fact DH was in key west in October before we conceived so there's a risk there too. I wouldn't be as concerned if my ob wasn't so black and white about it. Ugh.

Creedon778

Our trip is in a month so I'll only be about 8 weeks.

SaphireSweetie88

I personally would not go but that's my opinion.

caribbeanmama-2

@GoogleMD my understanding is that the research on zika is vastly lacking and that there is still so much that is unknown particularly as it pertains to human gestation.   I'm afraid that some may interpret what you wrote as suggesting that people ignore the CDC warnings and their OBs once they are out of the first trimester.  (You may not have intended it to come across that way.). To date, OBs and midwives in the US are pretty much forbidding travel to zika infected areas for the duration of the pregnancy.  Of course, we are free to do what we want...  

@Creedon778 We cancelled our trip to the Caribbean this summer - broke my heart not to see my family and I'm not one to be reactive to headlines.  BUT zika is serious and it is absolutely crazy that an asymptomatic virus has such potentially serious complications for a bunch of pregnant women.  WTF.  Anyways, we went to San Diego instead - I didn't really have a good time but oh well.  I had initially booked tickets to Maui and cancelled when DH panicked about traveling with fussy baby that far.  I think Florida is on the cusp because the U.S. is better about mosquito control and it will be winter and you can buy DEET covered clothing and stay indoors.

mtownhespes

Bermuda is Zika free last I checked...for those still wanting sun and warmth. And Hawaii and Cali of course.