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 Makhotso,
If your diagnosis is new and you’ve been breastfeeding your baby, your baby needs to be tested for HIV. They also need to take medication.
If you’ve been breastfeeding and your HIV is under control, your baby still needed to be given a course of ARVs. If this hasn’t happened you need to get in touch with your babies doctor.
All babies born to positive mothers needs to take a short course of ARVs. If you’re breastfeeding this will last longer.
Hi I tested positive and have been breastfeeding my hiv negative baby for 6 weeks and he was not give NVP is my baby now hiv positive?
Hi Charmaine,
The grip water won’t have any impact on your childs’ possible status. Are they taking ARVs?
Hi i am hiv positive and breastfeeding recently gave birth my daugher is 10 days old and i gave her 2.5ml of gripe water today and i just realised that it was wrong to do so. Does it mean she is going to be HIV postive after i gave her the dose?
Hi Queen,
If you’re no longer going to be breastfeeding it’s unlikely that your baby will need to continue talking nevirapine. However, before you stop giving your baby nevirapine, please discuss this with your babies doctor.
Hi my baby is 6 weeks I am switching her to formula milk should I continue to giving her nevirapine suspension
Hi Mantwa,
It should be OK to stop giving your baby nevirapine, however before you do this, please consult your childs doctor.
Hi I stop breastfeeding at 3weeks should I also stop giving my baby a nevirapine
Hi Asteria,
Are you breastfeeding? Has your baby been tested?
Hello I’m HIV positive but viral load is undetectable and I have a two month old baby now, I gave him nevirapine for six weeks only then stopped but I somehow realized I should continue to give him until 24 weeks, would he have got infected?