Get tested early
Protect yourself and your baby
What if you find out you have HIV?
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.
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. You can also
visit the National HIV Testing Resources Web site at
http://www.hivtest.org
or call CDC-INFO 24 Hours/Day at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636),
1-888-232-6348 (TTY), in English, en Español. It is important to find
out early if you or your partner have HIV, because there is a lot you
can do to make yourself healthy and to protect your baby.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. It might sound difficult, but there is help available. To get
more information about services available in your area, visit
http://granteefind.hrsa.gov/ searchbyprogram.aspx?select=H12&index=174
to find contact information for a Ryan White Title IV grantee in your
state or region.
The only way to be absolutely sure
your baby will not get HIV, though, is to protect yourself from
getting HIV. Get more information about
protecting yourself from HIV.
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