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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is It Possible To Healthy Kid For HIV+ Mother?

Hi, I am 29, hiv+ and my cd4 is 350 bt my viral load is apperently high cz my dr said there is no need for me to start arvs. I recently finished my TB treatment in may n I’m taking purbac to prevent re-infection of TB. I suspect that I’m 2weeks pregnant and I would like your help guys because I’m nt ready to start arvs for te rest of my life bt I would like to protect my baby from being infected, so my question is, is it possible to hv a healthy pregnacy n nt infect the baby without actually starting the ARVs bt by only taking the necessary ones to prevent the baby from being infected? I would really apreciate your help in this matter.
Mon, 15 Dec 2014
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hi, thank you for asking healthcare magic.
I have gone through your query and understood your concerns.
It is possible for an HIV+ pregnant woman not to infect her baby. This can be possible if precautions are taken.
Mother to child transmission of HIV can occur either during pregnancy, labour and delivery or breastfeeding. There are interventions that can be taken during each stage to prevent transmission. If nothing is done, the chances of infecting your baby range from 25 to 40%.
If precautions are taken, this risk of infection can be reduced to less than 5%.
During pregnancy, labour & delivery and breastfeeding, the risk of infection increases with an increased viral load. This viral load can only be reduced by antiretroviral drugs.
From the recent WHO recommendations, antiretroviral therapy should be initiated as early as possible during pregnancy and should remain a life long treatment called Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Option B+, or stop after weaning the child (PMTCT Option B).
If you want the transmission to your baby to be prevented, I would suggest you take either PMTCT Option B or B+.
During labour and delivery, the midwives and doctors know the precautions to take in order to reduce the risk of transmission.
After delivery, exclusive breastfeeding or exclusive formula feeding could reduce the the risk. Mixed feeding is not advised.

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Is It Possible To Healthy Kid For HIV+ Mother?

Hi, thank you for asking healthcare magic. I have gone through your query and understood your concerns. It is possible for an HIV+ pregnant woman not to infect her baby. This can be possible if precautions are taken. Mother to child transmission of HIV can occur either during pregnancy, labour and delivery or breastfeeding. There are interventions that can be taken during each stage to prevent transmission. If nothing is done, the chances of infecting your baby range from 25 to 40%. If precautions are taken, this risk of infection can be reduced to less than 5%. During pregnancy, labour & delivery and breastfeeding, the risk of infection increases with an increased viral load. This viral load can only be reduced by antiretroviral drugs. From the recent WHO recommendations, antiretroviral therapy should be initiated as early as possible during pregnancy and should remain a life long treatment called Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Option B+, or stop after weaning the child (PMTCT Option B). If you want the transmission to your baby to be prevented, I would suggest you take either PMTCT Option B or B+. During labour and delivery, the midwives and doctors know the precautions to take in order to reduce the risk of transmission. After delivery, exclusive breastfeeding or exclusive formula feeding could reduce the the risk. Mixed feeding is not advised. I hope that helps I wish you well