HIV and Pregnancy
If you are a pregnant woman living with HIV, you may have valid concerns about passing the infection on to your unborn child, referred to medically as perinatal transmission. You may also have concerns about the effects of HIV medications on the fetus.
Perinatal transmission is a common way for HIV to be transmitted from one person to another. This can happen before your baby is born, when you give birth or when breast-feeding your baby. Your risk of passing on the infection to your child can increase if you have a low
CD4 count
or a high
viral load.
Taking
antiretroviral (ARV) medications
may reduce the risk of a pregnant woman passing HIV to her unborn child. However, some
ARV medications
may have a harmful effect on a woman's pregnancy in the first trimester (first 3 months). You should discuss the risks and benefits of this treatment with your doctor, especially if you are in the first 3 months of your pregnancy.
Make sure that your obstetrician has experience treating pregnant women with HIV. You want a doctor who can properly assess your condition, including your
viral load
and
CD4 count.
Based on all relevant factors, they can recommend the best treatment for you. If your
viral load
is
detectable,
your doctor may recommend resistance testing to help choose the medication that is the most likely to keep your baby from getting the virus.
