Q and A

Question

We want a baby, can we have unprotected sex?

My boyfriend is positive and he is talking ARVs. I’m positive but my CD4 count is still high. How dangerous is for us to have unprotected sex? We want a baby.

Answer

Hi

Many couples like yours safely have HIV negative babies. This is done using treatment. His treatment should protect you from getting re-infected. This could lead to catching drug resistant strains of the virus. This is only if he has an undetectable viral load. You can ask your clinic or doctor about it.

There is a very small risk that you may pass on virus that is resistant to him. In practice this is very unlikely. Re-infections is rare as HIV infection in the first place.

So most couples were one, or not, partners are HIV positive conceive by having sex with out a condom. If you do not start before hand once you are pregnant you would start HIV treatment. This will prevent the baby becoming positive while you are pregnant and during childbirth.

You should talk to your clinic about your plans, they can help you work through how to conceive.

You can find lots of information about HIV and pregancy in our online guide.

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