Question
I am pregnant and my viral load is not suppressed, what are my options?
22 October 2014. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Pregnancy.
I am three months pregnant and my viral load is not suppressed despite me being on ARVs. My CD4 is high – over 700 and is increasing , what can be the cause and what options do I have?
Answer
Hi,
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
There is no need for other options because so long as you are not missing doses or getting side effects, everything is going well. It is great that your CD4 count is so high and still increasing, this is what it is supposed to be doing. CD4 is used to measure how well your immune system is doing.
How long have you been on ARVs? You still have roughly 6 months for your viral load to become undetectable. The aim of this is to help prevent you child becoming positive.
You can find moreinformation about CD4 and viral load on our website.
And general information about HIV and pregnancy in our guide.
Hi Nolly,
If your viral load is 168, this means that you’re doing really well on treatment. Your HIV is basically under control. This is excellent news. Though slightly higher than what is classified as an undetectable viral load in the UK. The risks to your child will be minimal. Please see here for more info: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi…I have been on ART for about 3 months now and I am 8 months pregnant…My viral load is 168 per millimeters, does this mean my baby will be born Hiv positive? Could this also mean that my immune system is resisting the medication? Please what can I do to ensure my unborn baby is born healthy?
Hi Anonymous.
When someone starts medication their viral load should become undetectable within 1-3 months of starting medication. However it can take longer. This is why its important to have it monitored. Ideally your viral load should be undetectable before you have your baby.
With regards to window period, what are you referring to?
Hey how long does it take for the viral load to be undetectable???I m pregnant and I found out that I m HIV positive when I was 13 weeks and and viral load was over a million I started taking ARVs right away…..So my question is will my viral load be undetectable before giving birth????and I was told I m on window period what is window period in a simplest way?
Hi P,
How long have you been on ARVs for? Is there a reason why you are thinking about changing your treatment plan?
Hi am 17 weeks preagnat and taking ARV my viral load is unsuppressed will my viral load be suppressed if I change the medication so scare for me and my baby
Hi Athu,
Its not possible for me nor anyone else to say if your baby will be negative or not. However, being on medication will reduce the risk of transmission. There’s more about this here: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi
I am hiv positive and my cd4 count is 1062 amd my viral load is 13400.I am 7months pregnant will my baby be infected by my status? I’m starting my treatment today
Hi Busisiswe,
It’s great that you started HIV treatment immediately. You are doing all you can for your baby.
The good news is that HIV treatment (ART) can dramatically reduce viral load by 90% in the first few days of ART.
Do you have access to your viral load result? As Simon says on this Q&A here, how quickly your viral load reduces can depend on a number of things. This includes how high your viral load was when you started ART.
What HIV meds are you taking?
Hi I’m Busisiwe
I found out that I was HIV when I was 7 months pregnant and my viral load was high. I stared taking treatment immediately after that, will the viral load decrease in time for my baby’s delivery?