Will being pregnant make my HIV worse?
Pregnancy does not make a woman’s own health get any worse in terms of HIV. It will not make HIV progress any faster.
However, being pregnant may cause a drop in your CD4 count. This drop is usually about 50 cells/mm3, but it can vary a lot. This drop is only temporary. Your CD4 count will generally return to your pre-pregnancy level soon after the baby is born.
The drop should be a concern if your CD4 falls below 200 cells/mm3. Below this level, you are at a higher risk from OIs.
These infections could affect both you and the baby, and you will need to be treated for them immediately if they occur. In general, pregnant women need the same treatment to prevent opportunistic infections as people who are not pregnant.
Also sometimes if you start taking treatment in pregnancy your CD4 count many not increase very much even though your viral load goes down. If this happens don’t worry, your CD4 count will catch up after the baby is born.
HIV does not affect the course of pregnancy in women who are receiving treatment.
The virus also does not affect the health of the baby during pregnancy, unless the mother develops an OI.
- CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell that helps our bodies fight infection. These cells are also the ones that HIV infects and uses to make copies of itself, and then to spread further.
- Your CD4 count is the number of CD4 cells in one cubic millimetre (mm3) of blood. Your CD4 count is one measurement of the stage of your HIV.
- CD4 counts vary from person to person, but an HIV negative adult would expect to have a CD4 count within the range of 400-1,600 cells/mm3. Some factors, such as being tired, ill or pregnant, can cause temporary drops in a person’s CD4 count.
- A CD4 count below 350 cells/mm3 is considered to be low, and nearly all treatment guidelines recommend starting treatment before the count reaches that level. You are very vulnerable to infection if you have a CD4 count below 200 cells/mm3.