Brazil: The forgotten mothers and babies of Zika

The forgotten mothers and babies of Zika

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN
November 2, 2017

(CNN)Barely more than children themselves when they give birth, many of the forgotten mothers of Zika-striken babies in the Brazilian state of Alagoas are shiny-new teenagers, just learning to navigate their developing bodies.

Traversing the challenges of motherhood at that age is tricky at best; attempting to navigate them with a baby who carries the mark of the mosquito is almost unthinkable.

Rakely Santos da Silva was only 15 when she gave birth to her "special" child. She told women's rights activist Debora Diniz, who was traveling across Alagoas interviewing mothers of babies affected by Zika, that she had no idea her daughter, Mirela, had congenital Zika syndrome when she was born.

Continued at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/01/health/zikas-forgotten-women-mothers-babies/index.html