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 Palesa,
There’s no reason why you can’t have children. Please see Q6 here:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
I’m HIV positive and my boyfriend is positive. I’ve started treatment, he hasn’t. We want a baby, what can we do?
Hi Zanele.
How are you coping with your diagnoses? Are you able to get any support?
Because you’re on treatment the risk of transmission to your baby will be reduced. This is really important. The risk is even less if you’re viral is undetectable. Do you know what your viral load is? No one can say for sure if your baby will be OK. You are however, doing the right thing by being on treatment. For more info on HIV and pregnancy please see here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
With regards to your partner, he may be positive. The only way to know is for him to test. This is something that only he can deiced to do. If he isn’t positive then you being on treatment will be protecting him. That is if your viral load is undetectable. If its detectable then yes, there is a risk that he will contract HIV. Of course this is only relevant if he’s negative.
I’m 29 and just discovered I’m HIV positive. I’m also pregnant with my second baby from different father.He is stubborn and will not go and check. Sometimes we don’t use condoms. Will my baby be OK?
Hi Basket,
Thanks for your comments.
hey guys, its okay to be HIV positve and pregnant. There are a lot of cases where both parents are HIV positive and the kid ends up negative. Its okay, just pray.
Hi Tsholo,
Congratulations on your pregnancy.
Having a baby that is negative is very possible, this is because you’re on medication. For more info about HIV and pregnancy please see the following guide:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Good day, I’m a 23 year HIV+ lady, my boyfriend is also HIV positive. We’re both on medication. Recently I found out that I’m pregnant,my question is can I have a negative child?
Hi Philisiwe,
Unless you want to have a termination, there is no reason why you being HIV positive should stop you from having your child. Many women who are positive have children.
The most important thing to do, is to start ARVs. Being on ARVs will not only help your HIV, they will also significantly reduce the risk of your baby being born HIV positive.
There’s more about this in our HIV and pregnancy guide:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
If you know other women who are positive, it may be worth talking to them. The support from others may help.
Hi I’m HIV positive and I’m not on treatment. I’ve just recently found out that I’m pregnant. I need to know what to do now, can I keep my baby? If I do, what do I need to do. I don’t what a positive baby.