Question

Which meds are used for a baby and which tests?

5 July 2026. Related: All topics, Children, Pregnancy.

Hello, a baby’s mother came to my facility with the complaint of taking HIV medication starting at 8 months before delivery, and and was advised to start giving her baby neviropine until 6 weeks, which her did.

After the 6 weeks of administration of the nevirapine 1 mL every day, but the baby is still positive?

What can she do to get the baby negative?

Can she continue with the neviropine and add up the dosage?

Answer

Answer: Simon Collins

Thanks.

This is only a cautious general answer because I only have a few details about this situation, including exactly which tests were used.

Firstly, congratulations to the mother who sounds like she is doing everything right. Taking meds though the pregnancy will have given the best protection to the baby.

Secondly, if the baby was only given nevirapine, this sounds like the baby is not living with HIV. When there is a worry that the baby is positive, the clinic would recommend more drugs than just nevirapine. Just using nevirapine is a way to protect the baby from any further risk.

It also might be confusing because of the different tests that are used. If the baby was positive using a viral load test (called HIV DNA) then the baby would have been given a combination of HIV meds as treatment. However, if the baby was tested with an HIV antibody test, this would still show as positive – because the baby has the mother’s antibodies for maybe the first two years of life.

So it might be the different types of tests that are causing this confusion.

Please ask someone at the clinic to explain this. as otherwise it must be very stressful. You might also be worrying when everything is okay.

Please also ask the clinic to explain about the baby’s treatment.