This guide explains what to do if you are diagnosed with HIV in pregnancy, and what to do if you already know you are HIV positive and decide to have a baby.
Open publication as an online magazine.
Introduction
Background and general questions
- If you have just been diagnosed with HIV
- Can HIV positive women become mothers?
- How is HIV transmitted to a baby?
- Are pregnant women automatically offered HIV testing?
- How do HIV drugs protect the baby?
- Is it really safe to take HIV medicines during pregnancy?
- Will being pregnant make my HIV worse?
- Additional info
Protecting and ensuring the mother’s health
How is HIV is transmitted to a baby
- How and why does transmission happen?
- Transmission during pregnancy (in utero)
- During labour and delivery (intrapartum transmission)
- Breastfeeding
Planning your pregnancy
- Conception
- What to do when one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative
- When the woman is HIV negative and the man is HIV positive?
- When the woman is HIV positive and the man is HIV negative
- When both partners are HIV-positive
- Can I get help if I am having difficulty conceiving?
- Is fertility treatment available to HIV positive people?
HIV care and treatment during pregnancy
- What is prenatal care?
- Does every HIV positive woman need to use treatment in pregnancy?
- What if I am already using HIV treatment when I become pregnant?
- What if I need treatment for my own HIV?
- What drugs will I start with if I’m in this situation?
- What if I do not need treatment for my own HIV?
- What if I only discover I am HIV-positive late in pregnancy?
- What about if my HIV status is only discovered when I am in labour?
- Can I carry on taking ART after a short course to prevent vertical transmission?
- Are any antiretrovirals not recommended in pregnancy?
- Should I expect more side effects when I am pregnant?
- The Swiss Statement
Screening and monitoring
Prevention and treatment of other infections
- Opportunist infection prevention and treatment during pregnancy
- Vaccine use while pregnant
- Hepatitis B coinfection
- Hepatitis C coinfection
- TB coinfection
- Treating recurrent genital herpes during pregnancy
Delivering your baby
- Can I have a vaginal delivery?
- Caesarean section
- Can I have a vaginal birth if I have had a Caesarean before?
- Why is a Caesarean sometimes recommended if you are HIV positive?
- When should I have a planned Caesarean section?
- What if my waters break before my planned Caesarean section?
- Will a Caesarean section now stop me having a vaginal in the future?
- What else do I need to remember for the birth?
HIV drugs and the baby’s health
After the baby is born
- What will I need to consider for my own health?
- How and when will I know that my baby is HIV negative?
- Will my baby need to take HIV drugs after he/she is born?
- Will I need to use contraception after the baby is born?
Feeding your baby
Tips to help adherence
Tips to help with morning sickness or drug-associated nausea
Useful charts
Further information
Feedback
Credits
The guide was written and compiled by Polly Clayden for HIV i-Base.
Thanks to the advisory board of HIV positive people, activists and health care professionals for comments and the people who shared their stories. Particular thanks to Angelina Namibia and Memory Sachikonye.
Funded by The Monument Trust.
Artwork copyright Keith Haring Studio.
Disclaimer
Information in this booklet is not intended to replace information from your doctor. Treatment decisions should always be taken in consultation with your doctor.
1 March 2013