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 Lee,
If your wife is positive she needs to be on meds. If she doesn’t use meds, she risks transmitting HIV to your baby.
Hi i am hiv+ and already on my meds, and my wife is not on the treatment yet, i need to know the risks of the baby as we are expecting at the moment. Can our baby be hiv -?
Hi Emeldah,
You’re already doing the best thing possible by being on meds. For more info about HIV and pregnancy, please see here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
I’m 4 weeks pregnant and HIV positive. I’m already on treatment. What do I need to do?
Hi Girly,
Trivenze is a generic version of Atripla, its perfectly safe to take this during pregnancy. It won’t harm your baby. It will protect it.
For more info about pregnancy, please see here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi I’m also hiv positive n pregnant bt da treatment I was given indicates that it’s not to be used during pregnancy. The tablets are trivenze. Is there maybe something else to prescribe for me as I don’t want to hurt my baby. I’m 17 weeks wt r da risks
Hi worriedmon,
Babies contract HIV from their mothers, not their fathers. Therefore, even if your husband isn’t on medication this won’t impact your baby.
For more info about HIV and pregnancy, please see here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
I am now 12 weeks pregnant with my first pregnancy, and HIV positive. I am on medication but my husband is not. He refuses to use condom.
How likely is this to affect our chances of having a HIV NEGATIVE baby??
Hi Fane,
Its not possible to say if your baby will be positive or not. However, you’re doing the best thing by being on medication. Its the meds that will help reduce the risk of transmission. For more info, please see here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
I am 34 weeks pregnant now and started taking my treatment when i was 29 weeks.
My viral load was at the time 11,500 and cd4 count was 350.
What are my chances not passing HIV to my baby.