Castro RJS, Lyra J. Paternity in Times of Health Emergencies: experiences of Congenital Zika Syndrome in the Pernambuco outback, Brazil. Interface (Botucatu). 2025; 29 (Supl. 1): e240356. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.240356
Abstract
The Zika epidemic devastated the Brazilian population in 2015 and was directly linked to malformations in embryos exposed to the virus. The aim of this study was to provide an insight into the experiences of being a parent of a child living with Congenital Zika Syndrome. Conducted between 2018 and 2019 adopting an ethnographically-inspired approach, this study revealed that these experiences involved both a change in life plans and in how the invisibility of these fathers is explained in health services. Questioning the invisibility of men in care settings was precisely one of the objectives of the National Policy for Comprehensive Men’s Health Care, which, since 2009, has promoted fatherhood that goes beyond legal obligation, recognizing men’s right to care for their children.
Keywords
Paternity; Gender; Masculinities; Care; Zika virus
Access in: https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.240356
