The Mendoncas are among an estimated 1,700 families in Brazil whose members include a baby with microcephaly, a birth defect linked to the Zika virus that can be characterized by an abnormally small head and incomplete brain development.
Mendonca was eight months pregnant when CBC first met her at her doctor's office last February. She had become ill with the Zika virus early in her pregnancy and had just received more bad news after an ultrasound.She already knew her baby's head was developing smaller than normal. But that day, her doctor confirmed the brain damage was worse than he thought, leaving Mendonca extremely distraught.
"I'm still worried," she says now. "But not in the same way I was then. My worry was much bigger because I … was hearing so many different things, news about cases that were really complicated. You feel fear and desperation."
Babies with microcephaly tend to have a stiff musculature. Leandro has trouble holding up his head and grabbing onto objects.
Mendonca has had to change the family's routine, making room for three physical and occupational therapy treatments a week. She exercises and stimulates the baby's muscles and senses constantly.
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