Question
I am pregnant. When do I start taking ARV’s?
24 January 2012. Related: All topics, Pregnancy, South Africa, Starting treatment.
I am HIV positive and one month pregnant.
When do I start taking the pills that would prevent my child being infected?
Answer
First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy.
The WHO [World Health Organisation] guidelines for treatment in pregnancy recommend all pregnant women wshould start antiretroviral treatment (ART).
They also recommend that ART for the prevention of mother to child transmission should be started as early as possible, and especially after the first 3 months. This is indepdent of the edicison to use treatment for your own health.
ART during pregnancy as the key factor in reducing the risk of transmission of HIV to your baby. This ideally means having an undetectable viral load at the time of delivery.
Viral load refers to the amount of virus in your body. Undetectable means having so little HIV that the standard test cannot find any virus. You can only achieve an undetectable viral load by taking ART. The earlier you can achieve and maintain this, the better.
For more information see this guide on HIV, pregnancy and women’s health. It answers a lot of questions you may also have around HIV and pregnancy in general.
You might also find it useful to read the Treatment Action Campaign’s [TAC] Pregnancy in our lives. It explains guidelines for treatment in pregnancy, for women living with HIV in South Africa. TAC are based in South Africa. They can also give you more information about where you can access further support, or meet with other HIV positive pregnant women.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.
This answer was updated in January 2016 from a question first posted on 24 January 2012.
Hi Anonymous,
Its not possible at this point for anyone to say if your baby will be positive or not. However, being on treatment is very important as it reduces the risk of transmission. Do you know what your viral load is?
For more info about HIV and pregnancy, please see here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi i found out when i was 6 months im hiv started treatment immediately how are the risk of my baby being infected..my cd is 499
Hi Lulu,
It’s great that you’ve started HIV treatment (ART) because quickly getting your viral load result to undetecable can help protect your baby from HIV. But do you mean you are taking just one ARV pill? It’s a good idea to check with the clinic that all the meds you need are in that one pill. It’s usual with modern ARVs that all meds come in a single pill.
Um 16 weeks pregnant,l am HIV positive,l started the treatment last week they only give me ARvs my question is? Is that all or they will give me another one to prevent my baby before l gave birth thanks
Hi Manakedi,
Even if you’ve been diagnosed late in pregnancy its still possible that your baby can be negative. The important thing now is to start medication. The medication will bring down your viral load and hopefully this be be undetectable by the time you give birth. If it is then you’ll be able to have an normal birth. There’s more here about what to expect when you’re pregnant and have HIV:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
I’m 5month pregnant n I just found out that I’m HIV so is not too late for my baby to catch the virus?
Hi Snelizwi,
Because your pregnant its important that you start ARVs. Not only will they help your control your HIV they will also reduce the risk of transmission to your child. There’s more about this here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Hi im 19 weeks pregnant i just start anc and found out that i am HIV Positive i am not later taking ARV
I’m 6 weeks pregnant and I’m HIV positive. When can I start to take ARV’s so I can give birth to a healthy child?
Hi Slieyyy, You’re questions have been answered here. You and your doctor can talk about starting treatment. Thousands of women who are HIV postive have given birth to healthy children.