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.
I would just like to know when sperm washing was first discovered and the babies conceived this way, how is their medical condition, despite them not having HIV?
As the Negative mother what is the risks involved?
The most accurate test to confirm a suspected HIV infection is the Western Blot test. If your second test was using this method you can be confident that you are HIV negative. If you have not had this confirmatory test it’s important to ask for this, so that you can be sure of your status. Our testing and transmission guide has more information about the accuracy of test results.
hi
recently i found i am +ve but did another test proving -ve i didn’t understand it both are screening test… what shouls i do ?
Your viral load will not increase just from having sex without a condom. There might be a risk if your partner already has drug resistance, but if he has not needed treatment yet, this is probably a low risk.
Lots of HIV positive people still have children and families – see the questions at this link for more information.
Me and my partner are hiv positve. I am on treatment , he is not. My viral load is less than 40 copies. We want to have a child naturally. will my viral load go high when we have sex without a condom.
Hi, lots of HIV positive people still have children and families – see the questions at this link for more information.
i was born in 1989 and my father died in 1991, but when i tested for HiV in 2012, i was told am positive and am worried of not having kids and wife who are -ve.
Yes, many couples do this. Please follow this link to FAQs about this: FAQs if you are negative and your partner is positive
Can a HIV+ woman marry a negative guy and have a baby? Without him getting infected?
Hi Zama, if your partner is on treatment with an undetectable viral load it is relatively safe to try to conceive naturally. Please see our pregnancy guide for more information and let me know if you have any questions.