Question
Can we still have children if I am HIV+ and my partner is HIV-negative?
7 August 2007. Related: All topics, Newly diagnosed, Pregnancy, Starting treatment.
I have recently been diagnosed as HIV-positive and received my counts back CD4 read between 350 – 400 with a viral load of 20,000.
It came as an awful shock as I have been with my partner consistently for 3 years now after previously splitting, prior to this we had been together for 12 years.
We only found out these results as we were trying to conceive and I had recently received a slightly abnormal smear (my partner is HIV-negative).
Time is not on my side – I am 42 years old. Will it still be possible for us to consider having children?
I understand the importance of using condoms but both my partner and myself would desperately like a child. Could this ever be conceived naturally with minimum of risk?
Answer
Hi
It is not clear from your post, whether you are a man or a woman – and this is important when looking at details of risk to your partner.
If your partner is a man, then this is an easier answer. Thousands of HIV-positive women are safely having HIV-negative children but using combination therapy through their pregnancies to reduce viral load to undetectable at birth.
If your partner is a woman, then options include sperm-washing, but also using combination therapy to reduce your viral load and then using careful limited conception attempts, with very limited risk to your partner.
More information about all aspects of HIV and pregnancy are in this i-Base guide.
Links to studies about using combination therapy and limited conception attempts with an undetectable viral load include this study from the Glasgow conference in 2004 and this study from the IAS conference in Sydney in July 2007 a few weeks ago.
Hi Cynthia
Pls read the original post again and follow the links (click on the underlined text which takes you to web pages with more detailed information).
The risk for you is not related to your partners CD4 count, but to his viral load. If he is not on treatment, then you would be at risk of catching HIV when trying to become pregnant.
If he was on treatment, with an undetectable viral load, then the risk of catching HIV becomes much lower, but it is still possible.
Please get back to me if you still have questions after reading the related links.
hi I’m a female age 29 mate is 51. He is hIV + me negative. his vital load count is good he is not on any med. We want to have a child what are our options.