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 Pumla,
Babies born to positive mothers need to be given either formula or breast milk, this is because there is an increased risk of transmission. The risk is low, it is however there. If you were in the UK you’d be told to use formula only. In other countries breastfeeding is an option.
Does breastfeed and using formula at the same time can give my child risk of getting hiv?
Hi Mbali,
If you’re only feeding your baby only formula milk there is not a risk for HIV. But please talk to you nurse or doctor about your baby’s symptoms. It’s important to check with your doctor before giving your baby any meds.
And your doctor can give you the best advice about feeding your baby too.
Hello
Im currently feeding my 12 weeks old baby formular. My problem is she has been constipated and I was advised to give her umunti wenyoni. How safe is it for my baby.
Hi Prudance,
It’s great to hear that your baby has so far tested negative. However, to know for sure if she is going to be positive or not you’re going to need to wait until she’s 18 months old. Please see here: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/hiv-negative
In the UK (where i-base are based) babies are’t given ilvitrim, they’ll only be given a short course of ARVs. This is because we don’t breastfeed and ilvitrium isn’t an ARV, it’s an antibiotic.
Hey my daughter is 7 weeks old do l give her nevirapine and ILvitrim together after she has test negative she is on breast feeding
Hi Melody,
All babies born to positive mothers are given a course of ARVs, this is regardless of the feeding method used. It doesn’t mean that they are positive, they are given as a precaution. As to how long they should take them varies. If you want to know how long your baby should take the ARVs for, you’ll need to discuss this with your childs doctor.
I stop breastfeeding at 1 week am using formula now but still my baby is taking nivorapine I stop breastfeeding because there was blood cloth around my nipple taking nevaripine means my baby is positive?
Hi Rethabile,
Breastfeeding guidelines vary depending on where it is that a person lives. In the UK women who are positive aren’t advised to breastfeed, instead we use formula. This is because with formula there’s no risk. If however you’ve been advised to breastfeed, then you baby should take the nevirapine for the full 6 months. This is will be a precautionary measure.
Hey my baby is 3 weeks old and I’ve been taking HIV treatment since I found out am pregnant and the gave my baby a Nevirapine after birth, they said I should breastfeed for 6 months so I want to know how long will my baby take a Nevirapine