Question
I’m 6 months pregnant. Is it safe to delay starting treatment?
5 February 2018. Related: All topics, Pregnancy, South Africa, Starting treatment.
I am 6 months pregnant and have just tested positive. My CD4 count is 256. I have to start now.
I didn’t get much info as I thought I am doing it for my baby but I find it difficult to deal with the fact that I have developed AIDS, and have to start treatment.
My question is, will it be dangerous for me to delay taking the treatment for myself and only take the one for the baby. Since I think it was my emotional state that made my CD to be low.
I am very healthy and eat well. Please advise.
Answer
Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy.
I am sorry about your recent HIV diagnosis. I can appreciate that it cannot be easy dealing with a diagnosis during pregnancy and then knowing that you need to start taking treatment straight away. Can I ask if your doctor has put you in contact with support groups for people living with HIV? Many women find it helpful sharing experiences and coping with being HIV positive and pregnant.
Technically, a CD4 count of 256 doe not mean you have ‘AIDS’ as the US defines this as being less than 200, but it does mean starting treatment is very important.
Your doctor is giving you good advice. Starting treatment (ART) straight away is important.
The WHO (World Health Organisation) guidelines recommends all HIV positive pregnant women start ART. This is regardless of the CD4 count. These meds will be good for your health and good for your baby. The meds should get your viral load to undetectable befire your baby is born. Sometimes this takes longer than three months.
Viral load refers to the amount of virus in your body. An undetectable viral load (below 50 copies) means that there is very little virus in your body and is therefore the best way of preventing transmission to the baby.
Continuing ART afterwards is also recommended, but should be discussed with your doctor. As your CD4 count is 256, it is better to continue taking treatment after the baby is born.
The good news is that ART should increase your CD4 count. Although sometimes if you start taking treatment in pregnancy your CD4 count may not increase very much. If this happens, don’t worry, your CD4 count will catch up after the baby is born. For more information on HIV and pregnancy, please follow this link to our guide to HIV, pregnancy and women’s health. The guide also answers a lot of general questions about HIV and pregnancy.
It is good that you eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle. Avoiding stress, eating a balanced diet and taking exercise are all good for your general health and well being. However, this will not necessarily increase your CD4 count. ARVs are the only proven way of increasing and maintaining a good CD4 count.
As you are based in South Africa, you may find it useful to contact TAC (Treatment Action Campaign). They will be able to put you in contact with support groups near you. You may also find it useful to read TAC’s guide to Pregnancy in our lives.
Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy.
Note: This answer was updated in February 2018 from a question first posted online in April 2012.
Hi Lucy,
Congratulations, it’s great that you’re looking forward to being a mom again.
And it’s good that you started ART immediately. ART can help protect your health and your baby’s health.
So far, all the available evidence, over more than 25 years, shows that HIV drugs appear to be safe to take if you’re pregnant.
But please can you talk to the doctor about your treatment? Treating someone with a low CD4 count and preventing TB can be complex. It’s important that you talk to the doctor about your joint pains too.
Corenza C is a vitamin C supplement. It’s a good idea to double check with the doctor that any of your supplements work well with your ARVs.
And here is the guide to HIV pregnancy and women’s health.
Hello I tested + for hiv when I was 3 weeks pregnant and started ART immediately. I am concerned that I’m given a lot of medication won’t it harm the baby, they gave me medication to prevent TB which I took for a month and I thought I was done with it, but was given again yesterday, they gave me medication to boost my immune system, I thought Arvs were enough to do that. I don’t know my VL. They only told me my cd4count which was extreme low at 57 in Jan. I have accepted my status and looking forward to be a mom again but all these pills are worrying me. They also gave me corenza c like fizzes for bones and teeth and it makes my joints hurt. I have never had TB before.
Hi Evodia,
The choice to end a pregnancy is something that is very personal. Only you can decide what to do. If your partner has issues, that’s up to him to deal with, not you.
If you’re concerned about having a pregnancy when positive, this is common. However many women have children when they are pregnant.
Hey I just find out that am HIV+ on the 11/02 and doctor advice me to take treatment asap..so 2 weeks after I discovered that am 6weeks pregnant and am excited that am going to be a mother but nervous that my partner has changed towards me.. so advice please because I don’t want to think about abortion or anything stupid
Hi Londi,
Yes its safe to take ARVs when you’re pregnant. ARVs are important for your health and they also reduce the risk of transmission to babies.
Hai is it safe to take arvs while you are in 3months pregnant?
Hi Agnes,
Its possible to have a negative child even when you’re diagnosed late in pregnancy. You will however need to start ARVs as soon as possible and have specialist care. There’s more about this here: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Im 8 months pregnant and just find out that im hiv positive,will my baby be infected
Hi Precious,
It’s good to hear you’re going to have a baby. And even though you found out just now that you’re HIV positive, it’s great you’ve started HIV treatment (ART). Because this can start to reduce the risk to your baby.
What do the clinic say about your ART? The aim of ART is to reduce your viral load as quickly as possible. It aims for viral load to be undetectable by the time a baby is born.
However, your diagnosis is called a late diagnosis in pregnancy. But if this happens to you, there is plenty that can be done to help you have a negative baby.
Results from your viral load test will take less than a week, and sometimes only takes a few days.
So please can you talk to the clinic and ask about your treatment and plan for delivery of your baby.
Here’s the i-Base guide to HIV, pregnancy and women’s health for much more info.
Hi. I’m 8 months pregnant and I just found out now that I’m hiv positive and I just started treatment. How are the chances of passing hiv to my baby?