Question
Can I stop ARVs after birth?
23 February 2013. Related: All topics, Newly diagnosed, Pregnancy, Starting treatment.
I am 17 weeks pregnent and i found out that I’m positive 3 weeks back.
Last week i went for my CD4 count and found out that it is very low @ 159. now i don’t like pills and i want to find out if i start taking ARVs now and monitor my CD4 count until i deliver my baby and then stop taking ARVs, will that be a wise decision?
Answer
In most countries people start treatment when their CD4 count is around or below 350- whether or not they are pregnant. Starting treatment soon is important both for your own health, and to make it less likely that your baby is infected.
Because your CD4 count is at the level where most people start treatment it is unlikely you would stop ARVs after giving birth. You should expect to continue taking ARVs for life once you start. You can read more about starting treatment in our Introduction to combination therapy guide.
Although it’s normal to be worried about starting treatment ARVs can help you to live a long an healthy life. ARVs are much easier to take than they used to be and side effects are usually mild, and easy to manage.
If you’ve just found out you are HIV positive this can be a lot to deal with. Do you have any support to help you cope with this?
Hi Amahle, it is great to hear that you have started treatment. Even a few weeks of treatment before giving birth can help to reduce the risk of transmission drastically.
Baby will also be given their own treatment for a short while after birth. As you are starting treatment quite late, baby is likely to be on treatment longer than most e.g., up to 12 weeks, but this is just to help reduce the risk of transmission to as little as possible.
This is explained here:https://i-base.info/qa/19891
Hi am 36 week pregnant with 24300 viral load and 407 CD4 count I started my treatment today at my 36 weeks I want to know since I started treatment late my baby won’t be infected cause am lefts with few weeks to give birth