Question
I’m pregnant and not on treatment, when can I start?
20 August 2016. Related: All topics, Pregnancy, South Africa.
I’m 14 weeks pregnant and I found that I’m positive when I was 12 weeks. The councilour recommended I must go to the clinic and start treatment to prevent mother to child virus as soon as possible. The clinic suggested delaying treatment until 30 September. I will be 20 weeks by then. Will my child be still protected ? I don’t know my CD4 T cell count either.
Answer
Thanks for your question. Congratulations on your pregnancy.
Finding out that you are pregnant or that you are HIV positive can each be overwhelming. It can be even more difficult if you find out about both at the same time.
It is likely that even if things seem difficult now, they will get better and easier. It is important and reassuring to understand the great progress made in treating HIV. This is especially true for treatment in pregnancy.
Since mid 2015 all HIV positive women who are pregnant are recommended to use ART so it is great that you want to protect your health and that of the baby.
I am not sure why the clinic has suggested delaying starting treatment – this may be because of other aspects of your health or pregnancy. It is therefore a good idea to go back and speak with the doctors at the clinic. They should be able to check your CD4 T cell count and viral load as well.
However, even if you are not able to start treatment until later on in pregnancy, you still have a very good chance of not transmitting HIV to your baby.
Even at 28 weeks (a late diagnosis) some women who start treatment immediately and get an undetectable viral load by the time of delivery can have normal birth and a negative baby.
It is still easier to be taking treatment earlier on in pregnancy so you can feel better about your health and then focus on all of the parts of having a baby. Hopefully you can speak to your doctor and talk through your options.
In the meantime please see our guide on pregnancy for other information:
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