Introduction
This is the 4th edition of the i-Base pregnancy guide. Since the last edition there has been an update of the pregnancy guidelines issued by the British HIV Association (BHIVA), and these changes have been reflected in our guide.
The excellent news is, with good management focusing on a woman’s health and choice, there is little risk of transmission to her child for an HIV-positive mother delivering in the UK today.
Our most recent reports show a 1 in 1,000 transmission rate for women receiving HAART with an undetectable viral load of less than 50 copies/mL whether she has a planned vaginal or planned Caesarean delivery. This is the lowest reported and represents a significant advance in the information available to women planning a family or already pregnant.
The similarly low transmission rate seen in selected women with very low viral load who chose to receive AZT monotherapy and deliver by planned Caesarean section is important too, as it confirms that this remains an option.
We explain what all these options mean and when they are appropriate in our guide.
We have also included important new information for couples where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative. This is based on the Swiss Statement, which suggests that by using HIV treatment to reduce viral load to undetectable the risk to the HIV-negative partner from natural conception is close to zero.But the details of the Statement are important.
Excellent news too is that people with HIV are living longer and healthier lives so an HIV-positive mother in the UK today can also expect to be around to watch her child grow up!
British HIV Association (BHIVA) and Children’s HIV Association (CHIVA) Guidelines for the Management of HIV Infection in Pregnant Women 2008 are online at: