Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. This virus is contracted through contact with HIV-infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids. A person with HIV can take a variety of medications to lengthen her life; however, there is no cure. A pregnant woman with HIV can deliver a perfectly healthy baby, but it is possible that she’ll pass the virus on.
Statistics
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 120,000 and 160,000 American women are infected with HIV as of 2011; 6,000 to 7,000 infected women give birth each year. A woman who is infected and doesn’t seek treatment has about a 25-percent chance of passing the virus to her baby; if she takes medication to protect the baby, her chance of infecting him is around 2 percent. As of 2011, more than 5,000 children are known to have died after contracting HIV from their mothers.
Methods of Transmitting HIV
An infected mother can pass the virus to her child at several points during her pregnancy. Most women who are healthy other than their HIV infection won’t pass the virus to the baby through the placenta, but this becomes more likely if she has another type of infection, is malnourished or has recently contracted HIV. The virus can also be passed to the baby during delivery, when the baby comes in contact with her mother’s vaginal fluid and possibly her blood. The virus can be also be transmitted through breast milk if the mother breastfeeds her baby.
Care During Pregnancy
If you’re HIV-positive and become pregnant, you must immediately seek medical care. Your doctor will need to take frequent blood samples throughout the pregnancy to monitor your immune system and the levels of the virus in your blood. He’ll also test the iron in your blood and may recommend you eat more iron-rich foods to protect yourself from becoming anemic. He will likely recommend that you take medication called antiretrovirals, if you’re not doing so already. This medication greatly reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to the baby.
During Labor and Beyond
Since your baby is at risk of contracting HIV during birth, your doctors may take extra steps to ensure a safe delivery. They will likely wait for you to go into labor naturally rather than breaking your water, or they may deliver the baby through Cesarean section. Both these steps protect the baby from coming into contact with infected fluid. After birth, you must feed the baby only formula, never breast milk. The doctor will likely put him on an anti-HIV medication immediately, then will test him regularly over the first 6 months to see if he has contracted the virus.
