Science AMA Series: I’m Catherine Spong—OB/GYN, acting director of an
NIH institute, researcher, and mom of 4. Let’s talk about Zika virus and
why we need to study its long-term effects on pregnancy & children
infected in the womb. AMA!
Abstract
Hello reddit! I’m Cathy Spong, and I oversee NIH’s Eunice Kennedy
Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD), which supports research on fetal, infant and child development;
maternal, child and family health; reproductive biology and population
issues; and medical rehabilitation. We know that Zika virus causes
microcephaly and other serious birth defects, and is linked to pregnancy
problems, including miscarriage and stillbirth. While our attention is
rightly focused on vaccine development, mosquito control, and other
measures to prevent the spread of Zika, it is also important to
acknowledge that people affected by Zika today—parents, families,
caregivers, and health care professionals—may be contending with
unknown health outcomes for many years to come. We in the public health
community need to identify optimal approaches to treat and care for
children who have been exposed to Zika virus in the womb. We also need
to be able to tell a woman and tell a family, the risks Zika virus poses
throughout pregnancy, and research will help us understand these risks.
Earlier this summer, NIH launched the multi-country Zika in Infants and
Pregnancy (ZIP) study to evaluate the health risks that Zika virus
infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and
infants. Researchers aim to enroll 10,000 pregnant women in their first
trimester and follow them throughout their pregnancies. After birth, the
infants will be followed for at least one year. We anticipate that
studies like ZIP will provide important information on the link between
Zika infection and pregnancy complications and inform strategies to help
safeguard the health of mothers and their newborns. I emphasized the
need for this type of research in a recent Huffington Post blog, and NIH
is hosting an open workshop on September 22-23, 2016, to find the best
approaches to treat and care for children exposed to Zika in the womb. I
will be answering questions starting at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT). Ask Me
Anything! Edit: Hi, everyone! That wraps our chat up for today. Thank
you for your questions – this was a great opportunity to discuss Zika
virus and the need to study its long-term effects on pregnancy and
children. Don’t forget, we’re hosting our scientific workshop on Zika on
September 22 & 23. You can register to attend here. We will be closing
this AMA thread, but if you have follow-up questions, please send us a
Facebook message or tweet at us.