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?
My 6 weeks baby is exclusively breastfeeding and Neverapine now she has reflux can i give her ratine drops as it help reflux
Hi Lillian, congratulations on having a baby. I am happy to hear it is all going well. How is baby being fed? If they are on formula and they have been tested twice they are confirmed to be HIV negative. If baby is being breastfed, they should remain on co-trimoxazole until you switch feeding and a final test is needed a few weeks after stopping to confirm their status.
Hi there I’m a mother of 10 months little boy and im just taking my LTD’s very well so that the sisters at the clinic they said to me that there is anymore need to give my baby the medical suspension because my result coming back very low-viral load so i just asking is true that my baby will always being negative and safe please explain to me i needa better understanding thanks
Hi Jabulani, while baby is breastfeeding it is not recommended to also give baby water. While baby is this young they should only be needing breastfeed.
Can l give my one week baby water while on nevarapine treatment, currently the mother is only breastfeeding
Hi Sinazo, yes you can. After 6 months there is no further risk of mix feeding. It is safe to give baby both breast and formula milk after they turn 6 months.
Can I give my six months baby a formula and breast milk while on novatrim
Hi Zuzu, the global guidelines recommend that co-trimoxazole is given to baby’s until it is confirmed they are HIV negative after stopping breastfeeding.
As baby is still being breastfed, they should continue taking co-trimoxazole. This is to prevent other infections that baby might be at risk of. Are you able to return to the clinic and ask?
Co-trimoxazole is the same thing as Bactrim.
My son is 5 months he was on bactrim,I went to the clinic they said he’s not going to get onother one that a new rule is it true? I’m only breastfeeding
Can I buy it to the private doctor because I’m scared
Hi Grace, congratulations on having a baby. Mixed feeding is not recommended. This is because switching between formula and breast milk can interfere with baby’s tummy. This can then increase the risk of transmission.
It would be suitable to switch completely to breastmilk. It is great that you are undetectable and baby is on nevirapine but there is still some risk of transmission when mixed feeding.