Question
I am an HIV positive man, can I have a baby?
4 January 2016. Related: All topics, Pregnancy.
I am very much interested to know if someone with a CD4 count of above 500 and an undetectable viral load can make a woman pregnant without infecting her with the virus?
Or does it mean once you have HIV your chance of having your own child is a dead end?
Or is there any other way to have your own child without infecting either the woman or the child?
Answer
Being HIV positive should not stop you having a baby. Many sero-different couples (where one partner is positive and the other is negative), have had healthy HIV negative babies.
Your second question was whether it is possible to have an HIV negative baby without passing HIV onto your your girlfriend or baby. The answer is yes. However, this will depend on a number of factors.
Firstly, you would have to on antiretroviral treatment (ART) with an undetectable viral load. Are you taking treatment?
Secondly, both of you should be checked for STIs (Sexually Transmitted infections). This is good practice whenever two people are planning a pregnancy. STIs can sometimes increase the risk of passing on HIV to your negative partner.
Thirdly, the chance of conceiving is highest when your girlfriend is ovulating. Ovulation takes place in the middle of the woman’s monthly cycle. This is about 14 days before her period.
This link the the pregancny guide to is about how sero-different couples can conceive naturally. The guide also lists other conception options.
You may also find it useful to read the Swiss Statement. This describes the transmission risk for someone who is on stable HIV treatment as ‘negligible’ and ‘similar to risks of daily life’. It is difficult to put a percentage risk on this.
When you and your girlfriend decide you are ready to have a baby, you should speak to your doctor who will be to advise and assist you accordingly.
Good luck with your plans.
This answer was updated in January 2016 from a question posted on 26 March 2012.
I am Evans i would like to have a boby am positive, and wife is negative can you please assist us doctor.
Hi Dineo, how is your boyfriend doing? Are you both on treatment?
When trying for a baby it is recommended to have a suppressed viral load. This is because the lower your viral load, the lower the risk to baby.
ARVs will also help to keep you healthy which means it will help with fertility and increase the chances of conceiving.
Being on treatment will ensure to keep both you and baby healthy. It is safe to stay on treatment during the pregnancy.
Hi I’m hiv and my boyfriend is also hiv just found out last month and we planning to have a baby how can we boost our infertility or do we need to be undetectable first.
Hi Diketso, great that you are thinking of having a family. To conceive naturally, wihout a risk to your partner, your viral load needs to be undetectable, ideally for six months. Please talk to your doctor about needing the viral load test for this reason. Your partner also needs to be involved and happy to do this, of course. Best wishes.
I am hiv positive. My partner is negative. I take my medicine everyday.
Now I want to make kids.
Is it possible to not infecting my partner and the baby?
The information is
very good and will save many lives.
Hi Sunday, the answer to you main question is yes. If a someone has an undetectable viral load this will protect their partner from HIV. This includes if you want to have a baby with a negative partner. Please ask the NGO when they expect to have the VL test kits again.
I was diagnosed in July . Since then , I am strictly on my ART treatment . This is my seventh month. I needed to do my VL, but, the NGO where I collect my meds said they didn’t have the test kits. My question is with an undetectable viral load, can a man give birth with normal sexual intercourse without infecting the female negative person?
Hi Huda, do you know your viral load? As you are taking your medication every day it is likely that your viral load is below 200/undetectable. If this is the case there is no risk of transmission. This is known as U=U: https://i-base.info/guides/testing/uu-undetectable-untransmittable
Even if your viral load is not this low, being on medication will suppress your viral load. Even a viral load that is suppressed a little bit does greatly reduce the risk of transmission.
Hi , I’m hiv post but I take my medication everyday so I’m asking that I had sex with this person that I know and we had sex without no condom so is it possible that he’s gonna get infected