Question
I’m HIV negative and my husband’s positive. Can we have a baby?
31 May 2012. Related: All topics, Newly diagnosed, Pregnancy, Sero different couples.
I just found out last year that my husband is HIV positive.
I have done two tests and both of them came out negative. The last one was an ELISA test.
We would like to have one more child. His CD4 count taken earlier this month is 600. He is not on treatment. My CD4 count is 1400. I took it just to be sure.
How is it possible for me to remain negative?
Can we have a child?
Please help.
Answer
Firstly, I am sorry about your husband’s recent diagnosis. It is good that you are supporting him and planning to have a second baby in the future.
Many sero-different couples (where one is HIV positive and the other is not), have had and continue to have healthy HIV negative babies.
There are a number of conception options available for couples like you. These are dependant on a number of factors including whether your partner is on treatment or not and what his viral load is. For more information on these options, please follow this link to our guide to HIV, pregnancy and women’s health.
You may also find it helpful to follow this link to the Swiss statement which explains in more detail, conditions that need to be present, should you choose to go for the option of TUI (Timed Unprotect Intercourse) as explained in the guide above.
In response to your second question, it is possible for you to test HIV negative whilst your husband tests HIV positive. This is not uncommon and there are many couples in your situation.
The risk of catching HIV relates to many things, including your partner’s viral load (ie how infections he or she is). Not every exposure results in HIV being passed on. And you may also have just been lucky so far.
It doesn’t mean that you are protected as you could still be at risk of getting HIV later on.
This risk is dramatically reduced when the positive partner is taking ARVs and has an undetectable viral load. Viral load refers to the amount of virus in your body. Having undetectable viral load means having very little virus therefore the risk of transmission.
For more information on risks of transmission, please follow this link to our guide to HIV testing and risks of transmission. The guide also explains your situation in more detail.
Good luck with your future plans.
Hi Oluwakemi,
The short answer is yes, you can have a baby. There is good news for couple in this situation. Please see this guide. And here is the guide to HIV pregnancy and women’s health.
Your husband needs to be taking HIV treatment (ART) and have an undetectable HIV viral load. And that means that you and your baby can be protected from HIV.
Please see this link to Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U).
My husband is HIV positive and we want to have a and am HIV negative
Hi Alfred,
Your wife is negative because you’re on medication. If you stop talking medication she will be at risk and you’ll no longer be in control of your HIV.