--- title: Zika: What Happened to U.S. Pregnant Women with Zika description: Nine pregnant women in the United States have had Zika, according to U.S. health officials. canonical: https://time.com/4239255/zika-pregnant-us/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-26T19:59:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:09.641Z article:section: Health og:title: What Has Happened to the 9 Zika-Infected Pregnant Women in the U.S. og:description: Nine pregnant women in the United States have had Zika, according to U.S. health officials. og:url: https://time.com/4239255/zika-pregnant-us/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae69a505d980c1d3/69887f59bc6cfc03c43dbea7/aa-mos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5100 og:image:height: 2869 og:image:alt: 150950857 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Has Happened to the 9 Zika-Infected Pregnant Women in the U.S. twitter:description: Nine pregnant women in the United States have had Zika, according to U.S. health officials. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae69a505d980c1d3/69887f59bc6cfc03c43dbea7/aa-mos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What the 9 Zika-Infected Pregnant Women in the U.S. Did > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=e9f188ed-c697-4f95-8800-e7ef2e6d075b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Pope Comments on Zika Virus and Birth Control [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Pope Comments on Zika Virus and Birth Control](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ynHAx23Y.m3u8) (0:20)  _Published 2016-02-18_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 26, 2016 7:59 PM UTC  Asian Tiger Mosquito biting, Spain Asian Tiger Mosquito biting, Spain Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 26, 2016 7:59 PM UTC Nine pregnant women in the United States have tested positive for [Zika](http://time.com/zika), according to U.S. health officials. In a [new report](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6508e1er.htm?s%5Fcid=mm6508e1er.htm%5Fw), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that among the 9 confirmed cases in pregnant women, two of the women had miscarriages, two women elected to have abortions, two infants were born healthy, one baby was born with microcephaly, and two pregnancies are still ongoing. The agency is also investigating 10 additional possible infections in pregnant women. In the two women who elected to have an abortion, imaging showed the fetus brain was impacted, experts from the CDC said during a press conference. Health experts are still trying to definitively prove that the virus is linked to microcephaly, but the evidence is very strong that that’s the case. All of the pregnant women reported at least one of the most common symptoms of Zika: fever, rash, red eyes, or joint pain. Among the women who had miscarriages, abortions, and the birth of child with microcephaly all experienced their symptoms during the first trimester. Two women who experienced symptoms later in their pregnancies delivered healthy babies. Researchers are trying to determine whether the timing of infection during pregnancy plays a role. The CDC said it is important to keep in mind that miscarriage during the first trimester is extremely common, so it’s hard to determine if Zika was the definitive cause of miscarriage for these women. In a [second report](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6508e2er.htm?s%5Fcid=mm6508e2er.htm%5Fw), the CDC says that there are 14 cases of suspected sexually transmitted Zika in the United States—which suggests it is more common than previously thought. So far, all the documented cases of sexually transmitted Zika have come from men who were either experiencing symptoms or had just gotten over their symptoms. Again, the CDC says it’s still not known whether that distinction is important. ## Transcript [ FOREIGN ] Avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one, such as the one I mentioned of blessed Paul VI it was clear. I would also urge doctors to do their utmost to find vaccines against these mosquitos that carried this disease. 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