St Lucia while pregnant - Zika risk

[CrazyIdiot]

Long time poster, NC for this one.

After yonks of trying I've just found out I am pregnant. Over the moon.

Problem is I'm supposed to be going on the holiday of a lifetime to St Lucia next week. Having given up on getting pregnant, DH and I have splashed out.

But it's classed as moderate risk for Zika 'consider postponing non essential travel'. We didn't know this when we booked it. I've read up on it and if I douse myself in repellent I might not get bitten, and if I do, I may not get the virus, and if I do it may not cause problems.

So many ifs, buts and maybes. It's taken the shine off everything. I feel like such an idiot.

We can't postpone/ cancel / change plans.

Has anyone else been to a moderate risk Zika country while pregnant? I feel like Zika is a 'new' thing, which doesn't lessen it, but 10, 15 years ago, did people travel in ignorance and be ok?

No travel insurance? Who have you booked with?

Just another one saying don’t go. I know it’s a shit one but it’s not worth the risks. We had booked Zanzibar for Christmas not realizing it’s a Zika risk. We’re now going to spend Christmas in Ireland instead as I’m 11 weeks pregnant. You won’t enjoy the trip as you’ll be worrying all the time.

The risk is low but the worst case scenario will change your lives and is so dramatic it's not worth the risk. It's just a holiday and it's just money. Trust me there are hundreds of other compromises and losses after having a baby, they are worth it though !!

Think of it this way... What's more important... baby's health or a holiday?
Congrats on your pregnancy :)

Hey OP-personally I'd check with my holiday insurance about refunds. They're usually really nice about it and you might get some of the money back especially as you weren't pregnant when you booked it. I think the high end resorts are OBSESSIVE about spraying all areas with mosquito repellent but personally...I wouldn't risk it.

Let us know how you go.

Check with whoever you booked with, explain your situation and see if you can swap the holiday to a different area? If not, see if you can speak to your gp for advice, you may be able to get something written and the company may refund you? I don't know what I would do in your situation but good luck!

I personally wouldn’t risk it but if you did go would you be able to relax and enjoy it or would you be on edge the entire time?

I wouldn't risk it, I cancelled a holiday to Brazil when I was 30 weeks pregnant, just not worth the risk in my opinion.
I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the holiday at all.
Sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear.
Hope you get it sorted and can get some money back if you decide not to go

Don’t go, it’s not worth the risk.

I also wouldn’t risk it, the mosquitoes were pretty bad in some parts of St Lucia when we were there a few years ago.

You say you’ve been trying for ages so even more reason not to risk this pregnancy - it’s not at all worth it. You can always go again once you have your baby - there were loads of children there when we went!

I was in a similar position nearly two years ago and decided to cancel. Your travel insurance should be able to help?

I wouldn’t go. We have just booked a long haul dream holiday prior to TTC and have picked one of the few destinations that is mosquito free.

When I went to St Lucia, some years ago, I was bitten horrifically by mosquitos. Even with DEET, if you miss a tiny patch you can guarantee a mosquito will find it. I have been bitten on my eyelid before!

NHS advice is crazy- men shouldn’t TTC for something like 6 months after visiting a Zika infected country?!

Congratulations to you on your pregnancy. Oh no! Such a nightmare decision. My husband and I had a chance to go to Costa Rica with my mother and father in law October this year but decided not to go due to Zika virus and trying to conceive. I'm now 12 weeks pregnant so very happy we didn't go. My mother in law told me when they got back she was thankful we didn't go as even with strong smelling deet on she and most people in their hotel were covered with bites she said they were relentless as its wet season at the moment.
Difficult decision I understand but if you do go be very careful and cover up as much as you can. Wishing you all the best for your pregnancy and holiday situation. Hope all works out for you Xxxx

I definitely wouldn't go. It's not worth the risk. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if the worst happened - can you imagine watching your disabled child suffer and know that is because you wanted a nice holiday? Hopefully your travel insurance will cover the cancellation and you can book an alternative. Mauritius was one of the few tropical places still zika free last time I checked.

I've just returned from Goa, which technically has a moderate risk from being part of India, but there's never been a Zika case in the state.

I'm 21 weeks, I made sure we stayed in higher end places (before conceiving it was going to be more of a backpacking trip). I used 50% deet every night and didn't get one bite.

It's up to you, I decided to risk it because India is so big and the chances seemed so slight, even if you do contract Zika only 13% of babies are affected by abnormalities. I thought of it as there's a higher chance I could get run over or fall down a flight of stairs.

It's a personal decision, we decided to risk it and we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday, it was exactly what we needed as a couple.

I'm sure you will decide on what is right for you.

Congrats!
I wouldn’t go. I know someone who statistically had 0.01% chance of things going wrong (similar situation) and the outcome was the worst out of all scenarios.

I would stay put. Money is just money. Having a healthy baby vs. having a baby with lifelong problems is a different thing.

I will just say though that India not having any reported cases of Zika is a bit of a joke. There are definitely reported cases, and loads and loads of undiagnosed and unreported cases. And a government attitude that it is better to not announce an outbreak to prevent panic rather than do something about it.

Plus some notion that locals are immune to some extent, which won’t be true of western tourists.

Source: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/world/asia/india-zika-virus.amp.html

She didn’t say that zaphoud, she said none reported in Goa.

I wouldn’t go OP, I would follow the travel guidelines. I am relaxed about things like anti-malarials and things like that and do lots of research, but being pregnant does change things. Something like Zika is so terrible and life changing that I couldn’t possibly relax on holiday! Plus mosquitoes love me and seem to seek me out.

I was just saying that “none reported by the government” in any place within India isn’t a reliable indicator of the area having Zika or not. Obviously everyone makes their own risk assessments, but we’re used to a certain level of transparency in our governments in the UK/US, and assuming the same applies universally is not a good idea IMO.

OP just thinking...if you have a chat to the company they might (might) change your trip to somewhere zika free?? A friend managed to do this with her flights when she was faced with a similar issue?