Question
I started treatment at 6 months of pregnancy, will my baby be positive?
4 October 2016. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Pregnancy, Southern Africa, Starting treatment.
I am 8 months pregnant but found out that I am HIV positive at 6 months and started my medication from there. My CD4 count is 261. Is it possible that my baby can be born HIV positive?
Answer
Hi,
Thanks for your question. Congratulations on your pregnancy.
It is good you have started treatment, it will protect your health and your baby’s health.
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.
As you started treatment at 24 weeks you a very good chance of not transmitting HIV to your baby. Without treatment, there is about a 1 in 3 chance (30%). With treatment and an undetectable viral load, the risk drops to about 1 in 100 (1%).
Please see our guide on pregnancy for more information.
Hi Nametso, it is really good that you tested early in your pregnancy and that you are now on treatment. These meds will also protect your baby and make it really likely that the baby will not catch HIV.
this guide has more info:
https://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hey I want to ask am Four months pregnant and the doctor said that I’m hiv positive so I have started my treatment now so I want to know if I will infect my baby or not
Dear Kea. congratulations on your pregnancy – and great news you are on ART. You said your viral load is 620 but I wanted to check whether this is definitely viral load or CD4 count. If it is your CD4 it shows you are doing well and have a strong immune system.
If it is viral load, this is also good as you are almost undetectable. You have pelenbty of time for the viral load to continue going down to become undetectable before your baby is due. This will also give your baby the best protection throughout.
Most babies born when viral load is undetectable are not born with HIV – see this guide:
https://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi I have started taking my treatment on 22 July 2024 and I’m 16 weeks pregnant and my viral load is 620 will my baby be infected
Hi there, did your wife have the HIV test confirmed in a laboratory and did she also have a viral load test to confirm she is HIV positive? If these other tests were not given, then the first test might have been a false positive, which can happen during pregnancy. This is worth checking.
You wife might have had another risk without knowing this, for example, could she have been born with HIV? The the other tests did confirm that your wife is HIV positive, it is good she is on treatment. Your baby will also be protected by the meds.
Please double check about HIV though
Sir my wife was pregnant of 4 months..nd in regular checkup we got to know that she is hiv positive..we never had sex with any other male or girl..at the time of marriage v both were virgins…..my results are negative…but hers are positive…even i had sex 2 times b4 her test results….now she is at treatment…and we had baby with C section….. I am worried for my baby….my wife was on medcn since we got her results during pregnancy…..i m really worried for my baby and ma self…..
Hi Dee, congratulations on your pregnancy. Have you been taking your meds at all during the pregnancy? and do you know your current viral load and/or CD4 count?
Even if you haven’t been taking them at all, even a few days of treatment before birth can help reduce the risk of transmission.
Baby will also be given their own meds after birth for a short while to ensure the risk is as low as possible. This is explained further here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/infant-meds-when-the-mother-is-living-with-hiv
Even though you have not been taking meds carefully, treatment can still have a significant impact on reducing transmission and even though you are at the end of your pregnancy you can still help to reduce this further. Have you planned on how you are giving birth/will feed baby?
Hello, I wasn’t taking my my ARV’s carefully, but now Im 9 months pregnant and afraid my baby has already contacted the virus.
Hi EMS, thanks, please refer to the quidelines for your country, which might, for example, be from WHO. As delivery is still some weeks away, viral load couls easily become undetectable by then, especially if you and your team can be supportive of good adherence.Please note that i-Base are not doctors.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241509565
Hi I have a 8 month old pregnant patient with HIV. She started her ART on her 8 months pregnancy. Now we tested her Viral Load with a result of 278 copies. Can she transmit the virus even if she’s on her ARV and virally suppresed?