Question
Does pregnancy affect HIV test results?
7 December 2011. Related: All topics, HIV transmission, Pregnancy.
I just found out that pregnancy can cause false positive results.
How true is that?
The reason I am asking is because I just found out that my wife is HIV positive and pregnant. We have been together for 7 years now and I have tested more than once and yet the results for me are still negative.
How is this possible?
Answer
Congratulations on your wife’s pregnancy.
In response to your first question, pregnancy does not affect HIV test results.
The reason you have tested negative on a number of occasions and remain uninfected, could be down to luck. There are many couples in your situation where one partner remains uninfected even though they have sex without using condoms for years.
Can I ask if your wife is on treatment, and if she is, what her viral load is? This is because, studies have shown that if the positive partner in a relationship is on treatment and has an undetectable viral load, it reduces their risk of transmitting HIV to their partner. However, even though the risk is low, there is still some risk, and as such the recommendation is to use condoms.
The other reason I ask whether your wife is on treatment is because, it is recommended that she should be on treatment as she is pregnant. This is important because she needs to have an undetectable viral load by the time she delivers. An undetectable viral load at the time of delivery is the best way to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV to the baby. Please follow this link to our guide on HIV, pregnancy and women’s health.
Best wishes with the rest of the pregnancy.
Hi Lila,
I’m sorry, but I don’t understand your question. Are you wanting to begin treatment again? Are you asking if a cure has been found?
I tested positive 2003, but when I took the HIV drugs I got sick. I did research about the virus, and I found that the virus has never been found. The drugs toxicity cause health problems. I would like to know where should I go to claim back my diagnosis, because I do not take those drugs anymore.
Thanks.
Hi Olwetu, you need to speak to a doctor about this. IT the pregnancy test was positive you could easily be pregnant. Being HIV positive anf on meds doesn’t stop you from getting pregnant. The meds ore good for both you and the baby though, but please speak to your doctor.
hi,I tested HIV positive last year on february and was introduced into treatment.this I slept with my boyfriend using a condom but it broked it wz on April2016.after 2 weeks I did a pregnancy test and came back negative. then I started noticing symptoms of pregnancy like sore breasts with dark nipples and backache. on July I did another test and came back positive. does thia mean am pregnant while HIV positive?
Responses to HIV are very individual. Some people have results that are different to the average.
You need to get several more test results before you can really interpret which direction the results are going in.
Her CD4 was 370 when she was diagnosed and it went up to 499 and the viral load of 99 copies/ml without even touching treatment its now that she started and we will check the load next month, but how can it be so low and the CD4 kept on rising without medication?