18 weeks & travelling to Barbados

I went to Barbados pregnant and with my 11m old. Honestly, the zika cases are extremely low and dated.

I usually get bitten to death but I don’t think I saw a single mosquito there either time.

Pack some mosquito bands to wear, stay away from stagnant water inland.

That warning is for every country that’s had cases, it’s a blanket warning. I went to a number of “zika” countries whilst pregnant and my obstetrician didn’t have issue with any xx

thank you so much for your reply. This has reassured me massively. Mosquito bands are on my shopping list x

I went to aruba early in pregnancy, all was fine… I was just extra cautious with mosquito repellents etc… tbh when I spoke to the midwife about it she didn’t have a clue…

It’s a difficult one, I wanted to go on holiday when I was pregnant with a miracle baby but there are only a handful of places in Caribbean that are low risk eg Turks, Virgin Islands, st Barth. I decided the risk was too high for me (given the hoops we had to go through to get pregnant) and went to Tenerife instead. You can travel all you want when they are born. It’s obviously up to you and you have to weigh up everything and if you decide to go, take lots of precautions, long sleeve tops and trousers from sunset and lots of deet spray.

I travelled to Costa Rica in early pregnancy. A pharmacist put the fear of god into me and said I shouldn’t be going, but I did my own research and decided to go anyway. The Zika cases have reduced massively since 2015. I think there’s like 72 countries across the world that have the same risk rating (including France!!) but cases in the last couple of years have been very low.

We took lots of precautions (DEET spray, mosquito repellent bands, plug in repellents for our hotel room) and I luckily didn’t get bitten. Even if you do get bitten, it doesn’t mean you’ll catch Zika.

I think it was more of a risk when Zika first came out because people didn’t know they needed to take precautions, but if you have the information, you can protect yourself!

All I would say is do your own research before you cancel your trip! And just think, there are plenty of pregnant celebrities that go away on exotic trips! I don’t think they’d be publicly posting about it if the risk was massive!

I traveled/lived in the Caribbean and was totally fine

Thank you everyone. I think the risks are super super low and do not think it’s practical to cancel the wedding. I am taking all the precautions possible and will go ahead. X

I went to Barbados for Xmas was fine! I was with my 18mth old he didn’t get bitten by mosquitoes. I got bitten a few times when I forgot to wear the spray but I’m fine

I found out I was pregnant post a trip to Barbados and a cruise. You can order a zika virus test if you want when home (privately) but I didn’t. I found the risk stressful but know it’s tiny. It’s up to you what you do you have to be comfortable.

I travelled at 20 weeks pregnant. And I lathered myself in mosquito spray! I didn’t get bitten once! Make sure your partner does the same! Have a lovely wedding x

Can anyone recommend a mosquito spray that’s safe during pregnancy? X

And if my husband is going to India for a backpacking holiday whilst I’m in my second trimester (apparently Zika is there now) …. Should I be cautious when he’s back? He’s going to very rural areas

zika is only caught through mosquitoe bites so you’ll be fine.

I think all sprays are fine, something with high deet is better. Or use the bands if you don’t want spray

we bought the Jungle Formula spray for our holiday and it seemed to do the job! Anything with up to 50% DEET in it is safe for pregnant women. It just smells horrible 🤢 and with regards to your husband, he might want to use spray while he’s away to avoid bites. They say that Zika can be transmitted sexually so if he does get bitten, the advice would be to use condoms to protect baby!

Ok thanks Jodie- that’s great sound advice!