Question
Is there a problem with taking Atripla if I am pregnant?
4 July 2012. Related: All topics, Pregnancy.
Are there any problems with taking Atripla if you are pregnant? I started taking it at
24 weeks.
Answer
Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy.
Atripla contains the drugs efavirenz, FTC and tenofovir. It is a combination that is now used by many HIV positive pregnant women worldwide. In the past, women wishing to conceive were advised not to use efavirenz. Or to switch if they found out they were pregnant whilst taking it.
However, over the past few years, this advice has now changed. Women considering or diagnosed during pregnancy can use efavirenz. This is recommended by the WHO (World Health Organisation) and the BHIVA (British HIV Association) treatment guidelines.
There are many reports of women throughout the world who have continued taking efavirenz during pregnancy.
Sometimes the information that comes with your meds has not been updated for bureaucratic reasons. This is not ideal as it can be confusing for people reading about their meds. In this case, the guidelines recommending use of efavirenz drug in pregnancy are correct and the information with the drug is out of date.
Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy.
Hi Nono,
What does your doctor say about this?
However, guidelines recommend to use Septrin during pregnancy, just as they would for a non-pregnant HIV-positive woman.
What HIV meds are you taking? And do you have access to your viral load and CD4 count results? Please let us know.
Can septrin cause harm to a pregnance
Hi Christina,
It’s great that your neighbour’s daughter is virally suppressed on Atripla. Having an undetectable viral load during pregnancy can help protect her baby from HIV.
As Rebecca says on this question, Atripla is not associated with causing harm to babies during pregnancy.
Here’s the i-Base guide to HIV, pregnancy and women’s health.
My neighbour’s daughter is on Atripla medication and she is virally suppressed but worried if the drug can affects her pregnancy.
I’m sorry Nana- I don’t understand your question. As it explains above Atripla is not associated with causing harm to babies during pregnancy, is this what you mean?
I want to know it won’t harm my baby? And me the vomiting is more like of morning sickeness!