Question
My baby is on nevirapine and I’m breastfeeding, is my baby positive?
19 August 2016. Related: All topics, Pregnancy.
Answer
Firstly, congratulations on having your baby.
It is normal for your baby to be given a short course (4 weeks) of HIV treatment (such as nevirapine) when born. This doesn’t mean your baby is HIV positive. This will be checked later through testing. A different type of testing is also used on babies as the normal antibody test used in adults will show the baby as positive.
Our guide on pregnancy has lots more information
https://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
In the UK, the BHIVA (British HIV Association) guidelines recommend bottle feeding.
This is because in countries where mothers can have access to to formula milk AND clean water ANDÂ bottle sterilising equipment, the risk of transmitting HIV to the baby through bottle feeding is zero. There are different recommendations for other countries though and many women breastfeed. I am not sure about the recommendations in Zambia.
This means that you are doing the best that you can to protect your baby.
However, being positive and looking after a new born baby can be hard and many people need help. Do you have much support around you to help or are you touch with good care from your doctor?
Hi Balungileaggrete,
Please talk to your doctor about your baby’s treatment. But all babies are given a short course of HIV meds if You can also ask about the best way to feed your baby.
Yes, you can switch to formula feeding, but formula feeding only. That’s because it’s not recommended to mix feed with both breastfeeding and formula feeding.
Is it fine if I stopped giving nevirapine at 3week breast feeding and shift to formula feeding at 4th week no NVP ,BIRTH PCR NEGATIVE,I STARTED ARV AT FOUR WEEKS PREGNANT
Hi Abongile,
Please talk to the doctor about feeding your baby. Milk is what babies need, so it’s a good idea to talk to the doctor about why you want to give her water.
Hi my BABY is on Nevirapine and 3 month old today and am breastfeeding her can I give water or purity is it safe?
Hi Babe,
This will all depend on how long your child has been taking the nevirapine for. Your childs doctor will be able to advise you.
Thank you. I also wanted to know since I have stopped breastfeeding does the child have to finish the Nevirapine medication given to me at birth or do I just stop giving her?
Hi Babe,
Congratulations on just having your baby.
It’s standard to give newborn babies a short course of HIV treatment, such as nevirapine.
You can change to bottle feeding if you want to. But it’s not recommended to carry on mix feeding with both bottle and breastmilk.
Can you talk to the nurse or doctor about this? They should be able to tell you the best way to feed your baby.
Hi there I gave birth on Saturday night decided to breastfeed as I am undetectable, baby was given Nev on Sunday and Monday morning however I am not producing enough milk and thinking of changing to bottle feeding I’m I putting the baby at any higher risk or is there a way of transitioning without putting the baby at risk?
Hi Yolanda,
It’s really not possible to me, nor anyone to guess the status of your baby. However, if your viral load was undetectable when you gave birth, the chances of your baby being positive are very low. There’s more about testing in babies in this guide: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi I am HIV Positive and I’m on ARV’s I have a newborn baby and I am breastfeeding and my baby is taking CIPLA NEVIRAPINE, I want to know if my baby is also positive