In:

The Lancet

Author:

Mónica Roa

In mid-January, 2016, health ministers from diff erent Latin American countries made public recommendations to women and couples to postpone pregnancy for 6 months to 2 years in the face of the Zika virus outbreak.1 These recommendations seemed out of place in view of the fact that 56% of pregnancies in the region are unintended.2 Poor quality of sex education, poor access to contraception, high prevalence of rape, and cultural barriers that make it diffi cult for women to negotiate the use of contraception with their partners, result in large groups of women who do not have control over their sexual and reproductive lives.

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