Principles of care

• A mother should be able to make her own informed choices about how to manage her pregnancy.
• She should be able to choose her own treatment during the pregnancy.
• Healthcare workers should provide information, education and counselling that is impartial, supportive and non-judgemental.
• HIV should be intensively monitored during pregnancy. This is particularly important as the time of delivery approaches.
• Opportunistic infections should be treated appropriately.
• Anti-HIV drugs should be used to reduce viral load to undetectable levels.
• Mothers should be treated in the best way to protect them from developing resistance to HIV drugs.
• Mothers should be able to make informed choices regarding how and when their babies will be born.