Counseling Guide: Preconception, prenatal and postpartum counseling in the context of the Zika epidemic
This guide in Spanish (and English) focuses on counseling on family planning, prenatal and postpartum care in the Zika context. Based on national and international standards, it has been specifically designed to assist health personnel who provide care to women of reproductive age in the regions affected by the Zika virus. This February 2018 version was revised from the original guide (published in Spanish in October 2016) to include updated Zika prevention and care recommendations and feedback from USAID and the implementing partners involved in the response to Zika.
The Counseling Guide addresses questions such as:
- What is counseling?
- How is it different from other forms of interpersonal communication?
- How important is counseling?
- What conditions favor counseling?
- How much time is needed?
- Who should carry out the counseling?
- What are the characteristics of a good counselor?
- What type of patient responds well to counseling?
- What are the recommended steps to advise a client or client?
- What tools are available to help provide high quality counseling services?
- When is Zika counseling recommended?
The guide also provides general practice recommendations on Zika prevention and health care such as:
- Transmission of the Zika virus, including sexual transmission, and how to prevent it
- Risks to the baby if the mother is infected with Zika during pregnancy
- Measures that can be taken to protect mothers, newborns and young children against Zika virus exposure
- Protect your home and your environment against the Zika virus
- Family planning recommendations, in the context of Zika
- Prenatal counseling in cases of suspected Zika infection during pregnancy
- Postpartum counseling when a newborn has been diagnosed with congenital Zika syndrome
- Monitoring the neurological development of children born to mothers who had suspected, confirmed or confirmed Zika infection during pregnancy
The guide also includes three work aids in Spanish: for family planning (pre-conception care), prenatal and postpartum care. Presented in the form of advisory algorithms, the use of job aids is explained in the body of the guide. The three advisory algorithms can be downloaded as separate files below: