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.
Hi Monica.
Yes this is possible. Is your partner on medication? If he is and his viral load is undetectable then there’s no risk. Please see here: http://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
If however he isn’t on medication, then so far you’ve just been lucky.
If a child is going to contract HIV its from their mothers. Mother who are positive.
I have a baby with an HIV positive man but me and the child are result is negative is that posible
Hi John,
Is this a recent diagnosis? Please can you tell us more?
There’s a lot of good thoughts in this Q&A about if you’ve just found out you’re HIV positive.
And here’s an Introduction to HIV treatment (ART).
I AM HIV POSITIVE HOW DO I GO ABOUT THIS
Hi T boss,
If the Lady’s husband has an undetectable viral load she doesn’t need to be on HIV treatment (ART). Being undetectable means the risk to her is zero even without using condoms.
If someone is starting ART their partner can ask for PrEP during the time it takes to get undetectable. PrEP is not HIV treatment, PrEP is taking just 2 of the HIV meds. There’s no reason to use ART if your partner has an undetectable viral load. So there should be no reason to make this choice.
Hi I meet a Lady she said that her husband is HIV+ and av been on treatment for 6yrs and she is negative but decided to be on HIV treatment with her husband for some years now as an additional prevention major and dey are happy Wit – kids. My question are will HIV treatment cause any health problem wen a negative person take it for life long? Can she still be infected by her husband?is it a right choice to make?
Hi T boss,
When you’re undetectable you cannot pass on HIV if you don’t use condoms. So there’s no need to do any of this. When you’re undetectable the risk to your fiance is zero. You can have sex in the usual way without putting on a condom.
If Am undetectable and masturbate in a clean cup and collect with a needless string and and transfer in to her cervix dat it will go straight into her womb will it act as additional safety to her because she is negative.
Hi Barack,
Yes you can marry, you can also have a family and lead a normal life. Because you’re undetectable you can’t transmit HIV when having sex:
Hi, am Barack,
I started using Arvs 27th/4/2018, i used the medicine for six months and test for viral load finally result came my viral load was 0. what worries me am never married can i go ahead and marry.