Question
Can an HIV positive man still have children?
24 March 2007. Related: All topics, Pregnancy.
Can an HIV positive man still have children? If so, what is the risk to mother and child?
Answer
Thanks for your question which is very easy to answer.
The simple answer is a definite “yes” as being on modern HIV treatment also protects your partner.
As long as viral load is undetectable, the risk of transmission becomes zero. This means that your partner will not be at risk and the baby will be negative too.
The risk of a baby having HIV is only directly related to the HIV status of the mother, not the father.
So if your partner is also HIV positive, this is how you can have an HIV negative baby.
The i-Base guide to HIV, Pregnancy and Women’s Health includes a chapter on planning pregnancies and is available online or in print.
Note: This answer was last updated in January 2018 from an original post from March 2007.
If the positive person is on ARTs then yes you can do the natural way. Also check about getting the negative person on PreP if that person is worried about getting infected. HIV has come a long ways . Go to your doctor and talk with them about the risks, and support groups about the risks and non risks.
Dear Zandi,
I’m sorry you sound so worried. But thousands of women around the world who are HIV positive and on ARVs have healthy HIV negative babies. Do you have support at the clinic? You can ask them for help through your pregnancy, and about feeding the baby too.
Finding out that you are pregnant or that you are HIV positive can each be overwhelming. Finding out about both at the same time can be really confusing. But here’s more info in this guide about HIV, pregnancy and women’s health.
Hi am worried my partner he break the condom while we were having sex.now am pregnant nd am H.I.Vpositive.so I want to know what are the risk towards the baby.am on ARV..’s treatment . please help me am so confused I don’t know what to do.my options right now is to abort the baby
Hi Melina,
If your husband is on medication and has an undetectable viral load, there’s no reason why you can’t have sex the normal way.Please see here:
http://i-base.info/htb/32308
If his viral load is detectable, please get back in touch.
My husband is HIV positive and me negative I have one child but we need more I don’t want to sex with him how can I get a child
Hi Phenyo, lots of people have children in this situation. Please see Q6 at this link and for the additional information in the full answer:
https://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
If one is HIV positive but the partner is negative what can one do to have a baby…
Hi Mansion, I am sorry that I cannot comment on the complications your partner had in terms but the HIV meds will not have made this worse. Please ask these questions to a doctor in terms of having more children. Which HIV meds are you taking and what does your doctor say about these symptoms?
just been worried if I can have another child with I and my partner been HIV positive last November, she suffer from incompetent cervix hope the drugs ARTs wouldn’t add damage to her? and also I usually experience kind of heat in the stomach when taken the treatment few hours at night.
Hi Leroto many thousands of people have children who are in the same situation as you and your partner. If you have an undetectable viral load on treatment, you can just conceive naturally. Your partner will not be at risk. Please talk to your doctor about your plans and see questions 6 and 9 at this link:
https://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions