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 Mandy,
Congratulations on the news that you’re going to have a baby.
But what does your doctor say about your viral load? You can ask them if your ARVs are working as well as they should. If they are not keeping your viral load undetectable you can ask to switch to other ARVs that can be better for you.
What ARVs you’re taking. And do you have your CD4 count results too? Please let us know.
I have been taking ARVs since end of November 2018,and recently my VL was 151from 254.Am 10 weeks pregnant
Hi Lattie,
Thanks for getting back to us. If you’ve been on meds for 4 months and your viral load is still high this would indicate that there is an issue with your meds. This is something that you’ll need to talk to your doctor about. If there is an issue with your current medication, there will be other options open to you. You still have some time before you’re due to give birth, so it is still very possible to have an undetectable viral load. You do however need to talk to your doctor about this.
It’s been 4 months since I started with the treatment.
Hi Lattie,
Are you on medication? If you are, how long have you been on it for?
Hi I am HIV positive and 5 months pregnant. My viral load is high, so I am worried that it may affect my baby. Please help
Hi Trena,
I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. Please don’t feel lost, you are doing all you can to help protect your baby by taking HIV meds.
Starting HIV treatment (ART) can mean that your viral load is dramatically reduced in the first days. Please see this picture from ART in Pictures that shows your viral load can be undetectable within a month.
Being undetectable can reduce the risk of your baby being HIV positive to close to zero.
What meds are you taking, and please let us know your CD4 count.
Here’s the guide to HIV pregnancy and women’s health. Looking after your own health, by taking ART, can also look after your baby’s health.
I’m five months pregnant i iust found out im hiv positive my viral load is 700 i only been on meds 2 weeks i feel like im lost
Hi Zandie,
Firstly, congratulations on the news that you’re going to have a baby.
It’s good that you’re on HIV treatment (ART). ART can help protect your health. But this can also protect your baby’s health. When you are taking ART it can reduce the risk of your baby becoming HIV positive.
The aim of ART is to get your viral load result to undetectable before it’s time to deliver your baby.
Have you been on HIV meds very long? Please let us know. And also tell us what meds you’re taking.
Here’s the guide to HIV pregnancy and women’s health. There’s a lot of info in this, including for after your baby is born.
Hi my name is zandie im 23 weeks pregnant and my viral load is 1700 will this affect my baby i’m very worried but im taking my medication