Take These Steps to Lower the Risk of Giving HIV to Your Baby

Take These Steps to Lower the Risk of Giving HIV to Your Baby

Just because you have HIV doesn't mean your child will get HIV. In the United States, about 25 percent of pregnant HIV-positive women who do not receive AZT or a combination of HIV drugs pass on the virus to their babies. If women do receive a combination of HIV drugs during pregnancy, the risk of giving HIV to the newborn is below 2 percent. The steps below can lower the risk of giving HIV to your baby.

• Get prenatal care. Going to your doctor before you get pregnant or as soon as you find out you're pregnant will help you to have a healthy pregnancy.
• Take HIV/AIDS medicines. Take HIV/AIDS drugs that include ZDV/AZT. Talk to your doctor about which HIV/AIDS drugs to take and when to take them.
• Lower the risk of passing HIV during delivery. Choose the type of delivery that will reduce the risks of passing HIV to your baby. A cesarean delivery or C-section is done so the baby doesn't touch the mother's blood. If you choose a C-section, you will deliver at 38 weeks to avoid labor and having your water break around your baby. Your doctor may recommend this type of delivery if your viral load is unknown or high; if you have not taken any HIV drugs or only AZT during your pregnancy; or if you have not had prenatal care. If your viral load is low and you have had prenatal care, your doctor may recommend vaginal delivery since the risk of passing HIV to your baby this way is very low.
• Do not breastfeed. You can pass the virus to your baby through your breast milk.

Make sure your baby is tested for HIV right after birth. If your baby is HIV-positive, ask your doctor about starting your baby’s treatment right away. A new study showed that HIV-positive infants were four times less likely to die if given treatment immediately after diagnosis. Learn more about parenting a child with HIV.

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Paying for Care While You're Pregnant

If you are pregnant, Medicaid may pay for your prenatal care. If you are pregnant and HIV-positive, Medicaid might pay for counseling, medicine to lower the risk of passing HIV to your baby, and treatment for HIV. You can stay on Medicaid for up to 90 days after you deliver your baby. It may continue for one year after you deliver your baby. But this depends on the rules in your state. Each state makes its own Medicaid rules. If you don't think you qualify for Medicaid, check again. You may be able to get it while pregnant because the income limits are raised for pregnant women in all states to provide prenatal care and HIV treatment. To find out if you meet the requirements, contact your local or county medical assistance, welfare, or social services office. The number is listed in the blue pages of your telephone book. If you are unable to find that number, contact your state department of health or search your state's department of health by clicking on this map.

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A Short Story: Maria and Enrique Have a Healthy Baby

Maria and her husband, Enrique, have been married for 5 years. This year, when Maria got the great news she was pregnant, she also found out she has HIV. This short story tells how one couple took steps to lower the risk their baby would be born with HIV.