Question
Will my viral load be undetectable in time to have negative baby?
8 April 2016. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Pregnancy, Starting treatment.
I have just started HIV treatment. I’m 4 months pregnant. My doctors said if I get an undetectable viral load my baby can be negative. Is there enough time?
Answer
Hi,
Congratulations on your pregnancy. It is great that you have started treatment. This is good for your health and should mean your baby does not get HIV.
Viral load normally goes down quite quickly after treatment. Usually this happens within a couple of months, if not in the first month. Because you still have roughly 5 months before you give birth there is plenty of time for you to become undetectable.
You can find lots of information about starting treatment on our website.
And information about HIV and pregnancy in our online guide.
Hi Mpho,
Even if your viral load is 86,200 its still possible that you may be undetectable when you give birth. If you aren’t then to reduce the risk of transmission a c-section should be recommended. There’s more about this here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
With regards to your baby being negative or not, it isn’t possible to say. This is why babies need to be tested.
Hi my viral load is 86200 copies and im 30_weeks pregnant will there be enough time for my baby not to be affected as I’ve started my treatment recently? I’m scared
Hi Grace. It is good that your husband is doing well on ARVs. Without more details is is difficult to comment of the skin problem. Anything to do with skin really needs to be seen by a doctor. What has the clinic said about this?
my husband is taken Arv every day but he has a problem of skin there somethings he can use to improve skin
Hi, viral load of about 200 is still called undetectable. If this increases to higher levels – above 500 or 1000 etc – then talk to the doctor about changing treatment. The highere viral load goes on treatment, the more likely there is drug resistance. This drug resistance could affect the other person.
If one viral load is 208 can it affect a partner of undictectable viral load
Detectable viral load only affects the baby in these two ways.
1. If you are still pregnant and hw not yet given birth. Getting to undetectable with reduce the chance of passing HIV to the baby.
2. If you a breast-feeding. Although recommendations are you use formular feed this needs access to clean water. In some contries breast-feeding if safer than formular feed becasue of risk from dirty water – but only so long as viral load is undetectable.
if I r hiv positive and your viral load is up to 3000 does that infected your baby?
Hi,
If you get it within 72 hours of an exposure PEP (post exposure prophylaxis) can prevent you becoming HIV positive. You can access this in A&Es or GUM clinics.
http://i-base.info/pep-and-prep/
2016/05/04 at 12:41 am
After sex with a partner infected with HIV, can you be pre-treated for the virus?