Get tested early
If you are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant, get a
test for HIV as soon as possible and encourage your partner to get
tested as well. You can visit your regular doctor or prenatal care
provider for an HIV test.
If you are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant, get a
test for HIV as soon as possible and encourage your partner to get
tested as well. You can visit your regular doctor or prenatal care
provider for an HIV test.
What Women Can Do
As mentioned earlier, the chance that HIV infection is transmitted from an
HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy can be reduced to 2%
or less (fewer than 2 out of every 100). This is possible because better
medicines are available to treat HIV. But first, a pregnant woman and her
doctor must know if she is infected with HIV.
Protect yourself and your baby
You can get HIV while you are pregnant. If you live in certain areas
of the country where HIV is more common, your doctor may want to test
you again near the end of your pregnancy to make sure you are HIV-free.
The same is true if you are having unprotected sex, injecting drugs, or
doing anything else that puts you at risk for HIV during your pregnancy.
So be safe and always use a latex condom and lubricant every time you
have sex, even when you are pregnant.
What if you find out you have HIV?
If you have HIV and you are pregnant, there is a lot you can do to keep
yourself healthy and not give HIV to your baby.
Give your baby his or her medications. Your baby will start getting drugs
to prevent HIV right after birth. When you go home from the hospital, you
will keep giving drugs to your baby yourself. Be sure to keep giving the
drugs just as the directions say. Ask your doctor or nurse if you're not
sure how to give the drugs make sure you understand before you go
home. Also, there may be help available if you can't afford the drugs
your baby needs.
Keep your baby's appointments. You won't know right away if your baby
has HIV. He or she will need to return to the doctor or nurse for checkups
and tests over the next several months. Be sure to go to all of your
baby's regular doctor's visits, and go right away if your baby gets sick.
Following all these steps means that your baby will have a very low
chance of getting HIV less than 2 in 100.
Breastfeeding
When a mother who is HIV-positive breastfeeds, she risks transmitting
the virus to her child. About one in seven infants are at risk of having HIV
transmitted during breastfeeding. If the mother must breastfeed, she
needs to take certain precautions to reduce the risk of transmission.
The WHO suggests the following guidelines for breastfeeding:
also important that the mother eat well and stay healthy, as her milk
production can be affected by her health. A breastfeeding mother needs
at least 500 extra calories per day. If she doesn’t get enough calories,
she can become malnourished and lose bone.
As mentioned earlier, the chance that HIV infection is transmitted from an
HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy can be reduced to 2%
or less (fewer than 2 out of every 100). This is possible because better
medicines are available to treat HIV. But first, a pregnant woman and her
doctor must know if she is infected with HIV.
Protect yourself and your baby
You can get HIV while you are pregnant. If you live in certain areas
of the country where HIV is more common, your doctor may want to test
you again near the end of your pregnancy to make sure you are HIV-free.
The same is true if you are having unprotected sex, injecting drugs, or
doing anything else that puts you at risk for HIV during your pregnancy.
So be safe and always use a latex condom and lubricant every time you
have sex, even when you are pregnant.
What if you find out you have HIV?
If you have HIV and you are pregnant, there is a lot you can do to keep
yourself healthy and not give HIV to your baby.
- Get medical care. You need to see a doctor or nurse for your
pregnancy and your HIV infection. Sometimes, this can be the
same person. Make an appointment as soon as you know you are
pregnant, and keep all of your appointments.
- If your doctor or nurse prescribes drugs for you, take them exactly
as the directions say. This will help keep you healthy, which means
you have a better chance of having a healthy baby.
- When you go into labor, get to the hospital early. At the hospital,
you will get more drugs to prevent passing HIV to your baby. They
may also decide to do a cesarean delivery (C-section) if you and
your doctor or nurse have not decided on one already.
- Don't breastfeed. The virus is in breastmilk, and you can give HIV
to your baby by breastfeeding. Your doctor or nurse will show you
how to care for your breasts until they stop producing milk, and you
can get help buying baby formula if you need it.
Give your baby his or her medications. Your baby will start getting drugs
to prevent HIV right after birth. When you go home from the hospital, you
will keep giving drugs to your baby yourself. Be sure to keep giving the
drugs just as the directions say. Ask your doctor or nurse if you're not
sure how to give the drugs make sure you understand before you go
home. Also, there may be help available if you can't afford the drugs
your baby needs.
Keep your baby's appointments. You won't know right away if your baby
has HIV. He or she will need to return to the doctor or nurse for checkups
and tests over the next several months. Be sure to go to all of your
baby's regular doctor's visits, and go right away if your baby gets sick.
Following all these steps means that your baby will have a very low
chance of getting HIV less than 2 in 100.
Breastfeeding
When a mother who is HIV-positive breastfeeds, she risks transmitting
the virus to her child. About one in seven infants are at risk of having HIV
transmitted during breastfeeding. If the mother must breastfeed, she
needs to take certain precautions to reduce the risk of transmission.
The WHO suggests the following guidelines for breastfeeding:
- When replacement feeding is affordable, feasible, acceptable,
sustainable, and safe, avoidance of the all breastfeeding by HIV-
infected mothers is recommended.
- When replacement feeding is not possible, then exclusive
breastfeeding is recommended. - To minimize HIV transmission risk, breastfeeding should be
discontinued as soon as feasible, taking into account the local
circumstances, the individual woman’s situation, and the risks of
replacement feeding (including infections other than HIV and
malnutrition).
also important that the mother eat well and stay healthy, as her milk
production can be affected by her health. A breastfeeding mother needs
at least 500 extra calories per day. If she doesn’t get enough calories,
she can become malnourished and lose bone.
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| Content Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention |
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© 2007 Abesha Care Inc. All Right Reserved. office@abeshacare.org
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Flash-Heating Breast Milk Kills HIV, 5/21/07
