Question
I’m 5 months pregnant, should I start ARVs?
12 October 2012. Related: All topics, Pregnancy.
I tested positive this month and I’m 5 months pregnant.
My question is can I start ARVs soon to protect my baby? My CD4 count is 319
Answer
Thanks for your email.
I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. Finding out you have HIV is never easy, but finding out when you are pregnant can be very difficult. How are you coping?
Starting treatment now is a good idea for both your health, and for your baby. This is explained here in our pregnancy guide.
We have an frequently asked questions page about pregnancy. Please read through these questions, and let me know if you have anything you want to ask!
Hi Moitoi, please speak to your doctor about this. Without more information about when you started treatment, which drugs you are using and other things in your HIV history, it is difficult to comment.
Ideally you want your viral load to become undetectable and without the information about I don’t know if your viral load is still going down or if your treatment might be failing.
This guide has more info:
https://i-base.info/guides/changing
Hi! I am 49 years old and I am pregnant and my viral load is 1250. Currently taking ARVs once a day at night. Please help with advice, can my child be safe from the virus. The pregnancy was not planned and my culture is against abortion and that is not am option
Hi Happiness,
If your viral load is undetectable when your due to give birth, you should be able to have a vaginal delivery. C-sections are recommended when a persons viral load is detectable.
With regards to the number of children you can have if you have a C-section, you’ll need to discuss this with a doctor.
If you want to ensure that there’s no risk to your baby, formula is best. Babies who are formula feed aren’t at any greater risk of being ill.
Hi, I tested positive at 5 months, had to do tests for viral load and CD4 count.. They came back my CD4 at 296 and my Viral load 12970. Then lot of delays happened I started ART while I was 24 weeks been doing great Im now 29 weeks. I am worried, is my baby still safe? Will I be able to deliver without C section?
I heard that I will only have 3 kids if I deliver through C section, is that even true?
I will formula feed my baby but people around says kids that are formula fed a susceptible to diseases? Is that true?
Hi Sharon,
Due to you being pregnant it’s really important that you start medication, not only will the medication help you it’ll also reduce the risk of transmission to your baby. Please see here for more info: https://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Given that you’re just about to go into the second trimester there’s plenty of time for you to get your HIV under control. The important thing is that you start taking meds. There’s more info about this here: https://i-base.info/guides/starting
Hi l am 3 months pregnant getting into 4 on the 1st of September lm HIV positive and l haven’t started the treatment .l want to know if l still have a chance to save my little one. I don’t want him\her to be I’ll because of me .please help
Hi Engelly,
What’s your viral load? Is your baby taking medication?
Hi. I Found Out That I Was HIV Positive This Year January And I Gave Birth April!
My Question Is They Never Encourged Me To Take My ARVs At A Certain Time And I Use To Take Them At Random Times As Long As I Took The Ones Fr Morning, Morning Time And The Ones For Evening, Evening Time! I Was Pregnant At The Time, Will My Baby Test Positive Or Negative? Please Help Me Out!
Hi Zainab,
It’s great that you started taking HIV treatment (ART) as soon as you tested positive. That’s because taking ART is the best way to protect your health, and your baby’s health.
So it sounds like you are doing all you can. Everyone forgets to take a dose very occasionally. This will be fine. It’s only a problem if it happens too often.
Please talk to your doctor or nurse and chase up your son’s tests. You can also tell them about the missed doses. And if you have access to your viral load and CD4 results, please let us know what they are.
Here is the guide to HIV pregnancy and women’s health. There’s a lot of info in this, including for after your baby is born.
Hello, I am tested positive when I was 5months pregnant and started taking ARVs since. Nobody educated me that to have virginal delivery, it has to be discussed with the doctor…well I gave birth in October 2019 and my baby is almost 5 months now…i still fear a lot since his first test is still not out yet…again I woke up this morning and discovered I forgot to take the dose from last night and I have been breastfeeding…I am so confused and scared…