What is it Like to Deliver a Baby with Zika-related Microcephaly?

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, discusses the diagnosis and delivery of the tri-state area’s first Zika-infected microcephaly baby.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“My initial feeling [when delivering the Zika-infected baby in Hackensack University Medical Center] was that I did good for the mother, when we made the diagnosis. The baby had microcephaly [and] various other anomalies. We looked at the history, we were able to get some information from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] so we were able to, within a very short period of time, put the puzzle together. But then, it came to [the] delivery portion of it: we delivered the baby, and that took a rather major toll on me, as a doctor, but I’m sure on the family itself. For me, just looking at a baby born with significant microcephaly, and what this would [entail] in the long run for the baby, was rather difficult. It was tough.”