Question
Will my baby have HIV?
15 December 2016. Related: All topics, Children, Newly diagnosed, Pregnancy.
I’m HIV positive and I started taking meds on the second month of my pregnancy. I gave birth not knowing my viral load and my baby is now 6 days old and is taking nevirapine. What are the chances of him getting infected? I am also breast-feeding.
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch, and congratulations on the birth of your baby.
The chances of transmitting HIV to babies is dramatically reduced if a woman’s viral load is undetectable at delivery. In most cases this happens within 1-3 months of starting meds. Sometimes it might take longer if viral load was very high when starting.
Because you started treatment early in your pregnancy, it is very likely that your viral load was undetectable. However, without knowing your results, I cannot be sure of this.
When you gave birth did you have a vaginal delivery? If you did, was this supported by your doctor? If it was, then this may be an indication that your VL was undetectable.
You being on treatment is important as this will also protect the baby while you are breastfeeding.
It is also good that your baby is taking meds as this will give extra protection.
This means there is a really good chance your baby will not have HIV.
The meds for the baby will help this and then testing is the only way to finally find out. Unfortunately, it takes a while for the testing to show this.
For more on infants and testing, please see the following:
https://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/hiv-negative
Hi Lucy.
Have you been breastfeeding your baby? If you have then you can switch to formula, that isn’t a problem. In the UK babies are introduced to solid foods around 6 months, so yes solid foods can be introduced to your babies diet.
Hi.am positive under Art treatment.my son tested negative .my problem is i have been told to resume to work or i get fired and hes 5 months two weeks .can i introduce him in to other food…
Hi Buhle,
Its great to hear that your son has already tested negative, this is a good sign.
Your baby being given water and porridge won’t increase your sons chance of being positive. However babies this young don’t need water, not porridge. What they need is milk.
I’m a mother leaving with hiv,and a have a son 3months old now,he tested negative at birth and was in nevirapine for 6 weeks however I’m worried if he’s status will ever change because my mom once gave him water,twice or 3x and the other day he was given porridge by my aunty,my family is not aware of my status and I’m still not in a good space to disclose,is the any risk that he’s status will change due to this?
Hi Nasipi.
Its a good sign that your baby has already tested negative. To know for sure however, she’ll need to have more tests and at different intervals. Please see here for more info:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/hiv-negative
hi I am hiv+ my baby is 6months now..she tested negative last year november I stoped breast feading her when she was 7weeks and started feeding her when she ws 5months is it possible for her to become hiv positive pls help
Hi Lulu,
It sounds like a really good idea to stop breastfeeding with the breast that has a rash on the nipple. But if your son vomits after his meds you can talk to the doctor about it. You can tell them how often he vomits. Is it every time or occasionally.
Hi I am HIV positive and my son is a month old now.I am breast feeding him,one day I noticed a rash on the nappiles and stopped feeding with that breast until it went away.my biggest concern is that when ever I give him his meds he vomites or slipt it out,I am very worried.
Hi Lisama,
It sounds like the clinic are giving good advice. It’s great you are on ART because being undetectable can protect your young daughter. So yes, it’s likely your son won’t be infected. But if you’re worried can you call the clinic and ask them to explain it properly to you? It could put your mind at rest.
I’m hiv positive and on ART treatment.i have a 18 months son and a month old daughter.im breastfeeding my daughter and i left a cup with her milk on the table and my 18 months old son drank it.now I’m worried he could be infected.i took him to the clinic but they didn’t give me anything only told me not to worry he wont be infected.