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Pregnancy and AIDS
Remember that by protecting yourself, you are also protecting your child …
Pregnancy and AIDS, incompatible?
Blood and milk are two of the biological fluids in which the AIDS virus circulates in HIV-positive people… Hence the risk of transmission from mother to child in the event of pregnancy.
Pregnant or not, be sure to protect yourself if you are not 100% sure about your partner.
The importance of screening for AIDS
An AIDS screening test is now systematically offered to every mother-to-be at the start of pregnancy. Even if you have no particular doubts, it is strongly advised to do it.
If this test is positive, you can decide to have a voluntary termination of pregnancy. However, rest assured, no one will force you to do so. If you choose to continue your pregnancy, medical care can be immediately put in place, considerably minimizing the risk of HIV infection to the fetus.
Note that the majority of infected children are born to mothers who have not benefited from medical care, often because the virus was not detected until late.
Transmission of the virus during pregnancy
15 to 25%: this is the rate of transmission from mother to child of the AIDS virus. However, the risk is only 2 to 5% if the mother-to-be is medically taken care of. Hence the importance of screening for AIDS in early pregnancy, and ideally before.
The risk of contamination is highest at the end of pregnancy, due to the exchange of blood between mother and fetus. But most transmissions take place at the time of conventional childbirth, due to blood exchange. This is why doctors sometimes prefer to schedule a cesarean delivery.
Namely : the risk of transmission of the AIDS virus increases if the mother’s viral load is high, ie just after infection or at an advanced stage of the disease.