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PREGNANCY AND HIV |
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If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, there is important new information
for you. Doctors can now help you protect your baby from HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
Knowing if you have HIV can help your baby and you.
- If you have HIV, there is a one in four chance that your baby will get the virus.
But now, there are special medicines that you can take while pregnant that will
reduce your infant's chance of being infected with HIV.
- If you have HIV, you can protect your baby by not breast feeding. If you have HIV,
your breast milk can infect your child.
- If you have HIV, your doctor can test your baby to find out if he or she is infected,
and if so give the special medical care your baby needs.
- If you have HIV, you can begin getting the care you need to stay healthy longer.
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Here are questions to ask if you are HIV-positive and pregnant:
- Should I be tested for syphilis during pregnancy?
- If you are pregnant and have syphilis, you will need special care. Babies born to
women with untreated syphilis can become seriously ill or die.
- What treatments are used for syphilis during pregnancy? Are they safe for my baby?
- Will I be cured? Will my baby be cured?
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Talk to your doctor:
- Learn the Facts about HIV and pregnancy to protect your baby. Your doctor can answer
your questions so you can decide what's best for you and your baby.
- Your immune system may work differently during pregnancy, so your doctor will watch
you closely. Here are some questions you may want to ask:
- Will pregnancy affect my HIV infection?
- Will the medicines I take for HIV be safe for me and my baby?
- Will my baby get sick?
- Are there special HIV drug studies for pregnant women? If so, how can I take part
is such a study?
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Testing and treatment:
- Blood for a HIV test can be drawn in your doctor's office.
- A small amount of blood will be taken for testing. Usually, you will have your results
in less than three weeks.
- HIV test results are confidential.
- It is against the law for any health provider to tell anyone not involved in your
medical care, about your test without your permission.
- For more information on prevention, and treatment - including free, confidential
and anonymous testing sites in Iowa, call: 1-800-445-2437.
- After birth your baby should be tested regularly for HIV infection, whether or not
HIV is present at birth. The baby also should be tested for syphilis, even if you
were treated during pregnancy. Because HIV infection can be passed through breast
milk, you should not breastfeed your baby.
- As a general rule, treatment for HIV infection in pregnant women is the same as
for others who are not pregnant. You should have a Pap test during your pregnancy,
and your doctor will probably recommend a CD4 count as soon as prenatal care begins.
Depending on the results, you may not need another CD4 county during your pregnancy.
- If you become infected with the TB germ while your are pregnant, your doctor can
give you medicine, and chest x-rays may be used with proper precautions.
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