Q and A

Question

Can an HIV positive man still have children?

Can an HIV positive man still have children? If so, what is the risk to mother and child?

Answer

Thanks for your question which is very easy to answer.

The simple answer is a definite “yes” as being on modern HIV treatment also protects your partner.

As long as viral load is undetectable, the risk of transmission becomes zero. This means that your partner will not be at risk and the baby will be negative too.

The risk of a baby having HIV is only directly related to the HIV status of the mother, not the father.

So if your partner is also HIV positive, this is how you can have an HIV negative baby.

The i-Base guide to HIV, Pregnancy and Women’s Health includes a chapter on planning pregnancies and is available online or in print.

Note: This answer was last updated in January 2018 from an original post from March 2007.

194 comments

  1. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Lucky,

    Couples where both partners are positive have children all the time, and their babies are negative. However,
    women who are HIV positive and pregnant must take ARVs whilst they are pregnant. This is really important because if they don’t the risk of transmission is much greater. For more about HIV and pregnancy please see here:

    http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy

  2. Lucky

    If a woman is HIV positive and not on medication yet but is 14 weeks pregnant and her partner is HIV positive and taking Arv’s, what are the chances of the baby of being HIV infected inside the womb?

  3. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Mpho,

    There’s no reason why you can’t have kids. However, are you on treatment? Also is there any specific reason why you haven’t told your partner?

  4. Mpho

    I’m HIV positive and want kids, my partner doesn’t know my status.

  5. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Arthur,

    We get asked this question a lot. Please see here:

    https://i-base.info/qa/category/life-expectancy

    https://i-base.info/qa/6258

  6. Arthur

    When you have HIV how many years are you going to live? Maximum years

  7. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Nessie,

    There’s no reason why you can’t have kids. Many women who are positive do have kids,and with partners who are negative or positive.

    Are you wanting to know what your partners status is before you try for kids?

  8. nessie

    I’m HIV positive, on ARVs, and my viral load is undetectable. My partner doens’t know his status. I want to have kids, what should I do?

  9. nessie

    I’ve been HIV positive since 2015 and ARVs. My viral load is undetectable. My partner doesn’t know his status. I want to have kids, what should I do?

  10. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Nessie,

    Being HIV positive shouldn’t be a barrier to you having children. Women all over the world who are positive have kids. If your partner knew is status that would help. However, him not knowing his status shouldn’t be an obstacle to you having kids. This is because you’re on treatment and have an undetectable viral load.

    For more about HIV and pregnancy, please see here:

    http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy

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