Question
My family are giving my baby water, is this OK?
4 April 2017. Related: All topics, Children.
I’m HIV+ mother and my baby is 3wèeks old . My CD4 count was 311 and undetectable viral load. I’m breastfeeding her and my family don;t know about my status. She tested HIV – n. Shes taking her meds as well (nvp). My worry is that now my mom believe the baby needs water so we giving her water almost every day and my breast milk is not enough for her as shes always sucking me. They say she doesn’t get full so we must feed her. I would to know what are the chances of my baby being HIV +
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
And congratulations on the birth of your daughter. Its also great to hear that she’s already tested negative.
Your family giving your daughter won’t influence her possible status. However, babies who are this young don’t need water. What they need is milk, and milk alone. If you feel like you aren’t producing enough milk, you may need to change to formula. However, if you do this, you must not mix feed.
The best thing to do would be to speak to your babies doctor. They will be able to tell you if she’s growing or not. If its any help some babies suckle more than others.
Hello my name is Tholakele
I have a 7days baby boy and we are both on treatment,, my viral load was <50 copies during pregnancy …
I am a breastfeeding mom and my worry is that my baby poop a lot more could it be that it's the sign that he gets enough milk or could it be something else
Pls hep
Hi Ntombifuthi, congratulations on having twins. Yes, it is very likely that your children will test negative for HIV. It is great that you started HIV medication as soon as you could – this is how best to prevent transmission. Given that they are now on formula the risk is reduced even more.
Are they both having trouble keeping the medication down? and is it just the Nevirapine or are they on Ilvitrim as well? If they are still struggling to keep their medication down you will need to speak to a nurse/doctor about this. Have you tried keeping the twins upright for the 30 minutes after they take the medication to try to keep it down?
Hi my name is Ntombifuthi, I’m hiv positive band was diagnosed in January and started my treatment right away.I gave birth in March 20th to twins baby boys. I breastfed them when I was in hospital for 3 days, but now I’m formula feeding them. I would like to know what are the chances that they might be negative when I go to test them at 6 weeks? Also I’m having a problem giving then NVP they throw up each time I give them their meds. Please help a desparate mommy’s.
Am Hiv positive and I gave birth naturally nd my bby is 5 weeks nd I’ve changed my baby from breastfeeding to formula milk coz they wanted to feed him saying he doesn’t get enough i gave birth with undetectable viral load but at the hospital they nvr told me my bby status nd now an scared am waiting for 6 weeks to go the clinic nd get my baby result my problem it’s that my baby doesn’t poop for 5 days nd my mother in law is asking me to give him water I don’t know if I can give him water
Hi Violet, congratulations on having a baby. Has your baby been on any medication since giving birth? Being undetectable will greatly reduce risk of baby being HIV positive, it’s very likely that your baby will be HIV negative. Now that baby has switched to formula it may take a few days for baby to poop normally again – formula isn’t as easy to digest as breastmilk and baby can take time to adjust. Have they pooped yet? As you are no longer breastfeeding giving water is fine but if baby is having enough formula this shouldn’t be needed.
Hi Zimkhitha, congratulations on having a baby. Are breast feeding or formula feeding. It is important that your baby is only getting fed one way. Why are they giving him food? At one month he is too young to be eating anything other then breast milk/formula. Introducing food is not recommended until at least 6 months.
My baby is 1 month old and he tested negative but my family they are forcing me to give him formula and small potion of food. And I’vent told them about my status. What must I do
Hi Joyce, congratulations on having your baby. It is great to hear that all is going well. You do still need to give him his Ilvitrim syrup. This is not to protect against HIV. Instead, it is an antibiotic used to prevent infection that as an HIV positive person, both you and baby are vulnerable to. The course of this antibiotic will likely last for the length of time you are breastfeeding for. There are no adverse effects to baby for giving him Ilvitrim for this long.
Hi, I am HIV positive and my viral load is undetectable. My baby tested negative after birth and is now 6weeks and has been taking nvp for that 6weeks. I never breast feed him. And would like to know if is it necessary to give him ilvitrim suspension
Hi Spokie, this depends on where you live. The WHO guidelines do recommend giving Nevirapine daily, even when on formula. For how long depends on babies risk of HIV transmission. You will be able to discuss this with your doctor. Giving your baby Nevirapine and formula together is perfectly safe.