Question
I am HIV positive and pregnant, what are the risks?
7 January 2018. Related: All topics, Pregnancy.
I am 32, married and have two children. I am HIV positive and so is my husband. I recently discovered I am pregnant but my husband is furious with me, and has advised me to go for an abortion. I am now debating on what to do as I do not want to go through a pregnancy without the support of my husband. What are the risks in pregnancy when HIV positive?
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Congratulations on the pregnancy and I am sorry if this is causing problems with your husband.
Is he upset because he is worried about the child becoming positive? Or because he is worried about your health? Or something else?
Also, are you already taking HIV treatment (ART)? this is because ART is good for both you and your baby’s health.
Many HIV positive women all over the world give birth to healthy negative children using ART. There is no medical reason stopping you from having this baby if you decide you want to continue with the pregnancy.
Also, for your health, HIV positive women are not usually at any further risk of pregnancy-related complications than negative women. As far as the HIV is concerned, most women have a small drop in their CD4 count of about 50, but this goes up again once the baby is born. For more information on this please follow this link.
For general information about HIV, Pregnancy and Women’s Health please see this i-Base guide.
Good luck!
Note: this answer was updated in January 2018 from a question first posted in January 2011.
Hi Lebo,
Are you and your boyfriend on treatment yet?
Hi im hiv positive and so is my boyfriend,i want to know if we can still have unprotected sex without infecting our unborn baby
Hi im 22 years old just found out that im 5months pregnant and hiv postive,im scared to tell my boyfriend what if he says i didnt get it from him and his 35 years old.confused
Hi
It sounds like you need to speak to someone about your worries. Is there a health advisor at the clinic where you were diagnosed who can help. You can also contact a local HIV organisation in your country. Do you know anyone else who is HIV positive? Or are you able to talk to a friend or member of your family?
I don’t know anything about your circumstances or your partner and relationship, but you will need support as this must be very difficult.
If you are not strong enough to have this discussion with your boyfriend now, or if you are scared of how he might react, then is is good to get more support yourself first.
The risk of the baby having HIV is related you the mothers viral load during pregnancy, and especially at birth. If viral load is undetectable at birth the risk in many Western countries has been reported at less than 1%.
See this guide to HIV and pregnancy for more information.
we both couple have hiv + and if i become pregnant is it possible that the child will also born with hiv+ pz tel me i m very much worried
Dear Ndindi
Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy.
Both vaginal and C-section (caesarean section) are safe methods of delivery for women living with HIV. Many women have had healthy HIV negative babies through either of these methods.
However, the choice of which method you can have depends on a number of factors. These include: whether you are taking ARVs (antiretroviral treatment for HIV); what your viral load is at the time of delivery; whether you have a strong preference for one method over the other; and the treatment guidelines in your country.
The aim of taking treatment during pregnancy is to bring down your viral to undetectable levels. In particular by the time you are ready to deliver. Viral load refers to the amount of virus in your body. Having an undetectable viral load means there’s very little virus. It also means that the risk of passing HIV onto the baby is dramatically reduced.
In the UK, the BHIVA (British HIV Association Guidelines) recommend vaginal delivery if a woman has an undetectable viral load by week 36. They only recommend C-sections if a woman has a detectable viral load around this time.
C- sections have, over the years, been offered to women to minimize, even further, the risk of passing HIV onto the baby. This was even more important in the days when women were taking only one drug.
However, as more and more women are taking combination therapy (3 or more drugs) during pregnancy, studies have shown that C-sections do not offer any additional protection. Especially when a woman has an undetectable viral load when she delivers. Hence the move towards recommending vaginal delivery.
Good luck with the delivery.
I am HIV positive and pregnant. I would like to know which is the safer way to deliver the baby normal delivery or C – section?
Hi Tutu,
It sounds like you are having a very difficult time and I am sorry to hear that. Your husband cannot force you to have an abortion, and this is a decision you need to be certain about before going ahead. For more information about abortion and HIV please follow this link to a similar question: How risky is an abortion when I am HIV positive?
I am 28 years old with 3 children . I am HIV positive,I discovered that I am pregnant and my husband is furious with me He said that i must terminate the baby because he can not afford to support the children they are many and i understand too.I have a fear , what must i do because know i am taking treatment ,what are the risks?please help me