For Brenda Pereira, motherhood has become a 24-hour commitment to caring for her daughter, Maria Fernanda, after discovering only after birth that her little girl had microcephaly.

Living in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, Brenda says her world changed overnight. The baby’s father abandoned her, she says, because he did not want “a sick daughter.”

With no choice but to devote herself to her child’s needs, Brenda left her job and moved in with her own mother. The decision came at another painful cost: her six-year-old daughter had to stay with relatives.

Today, she struggles to afford the physiotherapy sessions Maria Fernanda needs to support her development. Despite the family’s difficulties, they do not qualify for disability assistance because her mother’s earnings from selling bags of ice on Ipanema beach exceed the strict eligibility threshold.

“I have had to put my whole life on hold and live for the baby,” Brenda said. “All I want is to give my daughter the care she needs, but it feels as though the system only helps families when they have absolutely nothing.”

Her experience reflects the challenges facing many families across Rio de Janeiro state.

At the State Brain Institute, where demand surged following an increase in microcephaly cases, a special clinic was established to provide free scans and other expensive examinations. For Brenda and around 400 other families, it has become an important source of medical support.

But access to care remains a daily struggle for many.

Among them is 35-year-old Alzira Meneses, who must travel 155 kilometres from her hometown of Cabo Frio to bring her six-month-old son, Arthur, to the Rio clinic.

There is only one specialist in children’s brain conditions in her hometown, and she has been unable to secure an appointment because of strikes by healthcare workers protesting spending cuts. Unemployed and without public welfare assistance, Alzira is left wondering how she will manage the care her son needs.

“Where is the government? Where is it?” she asks, her frustration reflecting the desperation of a mother trying to find help for her child.

Despite the uncertainty, Arthur has brought moments of hope to his family. Unlike some babies with microcephaly, he can breastfeed without needing a feeding tube, although he has begun experiencing difficulties with his eyesight.

His father stays close, playing with the little boy in the clinic’s waiting room, while Alzira holds on to her faith.

“We pray a lot. We ask God to give us the strength to accept it,” she said. “We don’t know what might happen. There is no use in worrying about tomorrow.”

The clinic’s coordinator, Fernanda Fialho, says emotional support for parents is almost as important as medical research. With no definitive treatment for microcephaly, families need psychological guidance and support to help them care for their children.

For Brenda, Alzira and countless other parents, the challenges extend far beyond hospital appointments. They face financial pressure, limited access to specialists and the emotional weight of an uncertain future.

Yet, through every setback, these mothers continue showing up for their children — fighting for every appointment, every therapy session and every opportunity to help their little ones thrive.

Source: emirates247.com