Question
My wife is positive and 2 months pregnant – why am I negative?
14 March 2012. Related: All topics, Pregnancy, Sero different couples.
My wife of 3 years tested HIV positive last week. She is 2 months pregnant and I tested negative. I did a rapid test and I am circumcised. Is this real?
Answer
I’m very sorry to hear about your wife’s recent diagnosis. I can understand that you might be feeling slightly confused regarding your HIV status. There are a few reasons why this can happen.
There are many other couples that are in a similar situation to you. They are called sero different couples (where one partner is negative and the other is positive). Please look at the link on sero different couples.
So far you probably have been very lucky that you have not been infected by HIV.
Being circumcised reduces your risk by 50% protection, there may be genetic reasons, but more likely this is just luck.
Is your wife is currently on treatment? This is because being on treatment dramatically reduces the risk of infection to the baby. See this link on ‘Introduction to combination therapy‘ and also the link on ‘Pregnancy and women health.
There are also other factors that you and your wife need to know about HIV transmission. This knowledge can help both of you to minimise the risk of transmission. This can therefore help to reduce anxiety, stress and fears.
Lastly, have you both received any support from you local support groups? Getting support from your local support group or a counsellor can help you both to come to terms living with HIV. This will enable you both to gain and share experiences with others who are in the similar situation as you, rather than having to deal with it in isolation.
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