Question
Does the HIV in breast milk die after the milk has been expressed?
11 April 2012. Related: All topics, Children, Pregnancy.
Hello, I do understand HIV can be transmitted from mother to child through breast feeding.
My question is this. Is there no possibility for the mother to give the breast milk safely to the child by using the breast pump system where by she pumps out the breast milk preserve it in the freeze and thaw it to give the child.
Will the HIV virus not die during this process?
Answer
Thank you for your interesting question.
HIV does not live for very long outside the body. Studies have shown that flash heating can kill the HIV in breast milk. (Flash heating is a type of pasteurisation that brings the milk to a higher temperature for a shorter period of time, a method known to better protect the nutritional properties of breast milk than the method typically used in human milk banks.) Please follow this link to a study that describes flash heating in more detail.
Studies have also shown that being on ARVs (antiretroviral treatment for HIV) and having an undetectable viral load can reduce the risk of transmission of HIV through breastfeeding.
Here in the UK, BHIVA (British HIV Association) guidelines on the Management of HIV in pregnancy recommend bottle-feeding. This is because, in the UK and most western countries like the USA where you can have access to formula milk, clean water and bottle sterilising equipment, the risk of transmission to the baby through bottle feeding is zero.
Best wishes
Hi Jane,
This would still be classified as mixed feeding, so no it’s better if you just switch to formula.
I am an HIV positive mother on ARVS and i have a 3 month old baby and I plan on weaning her off breast milk because I will be returning to work and want to avoid mix feeding, I did some research on pasteurized breast milk killing the HIV virus. Is it possible to formula feed and feed her my pasteurized breast milk so baby still gets the benefits of breast milk?