World AIDS Day: How HIV+ Couples Can Have Healthy HIV-Free Babies?

Thanks to medical developments and contemporary treatment techniques that promise to reduce many of the hazards, HIV-positive couples can now realize their desire of becoming parents. A prominent gynecologist at Shimla’s Kamla Nehru Hospital stated on World AIDS Day (December 1) that a woman’s HIV status no longer prevents her from having children.

Dr. Jyoti Mahajan, a gynecologist, confirmed that taking a few easy procedures can almost eliminate the chance of the virus infecting the unborn child. He emphasized the significance of early testing and consistent treatment for pregnant women living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) in an interview with ETV Bharat. He added that contemporary medication today enables HIV-positive moms to deliver HIV-free newborns in nearly all situations.

With timely testing and regular Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) medicines, more than 98 percent of the babies can be born completely healthy and HIV-free. Just as people match their horoscopes before marriage, they should also match their ‘medical horoscope’,” Dr Mahajan said.

HIV+ Pregnant Women Pose Risk To Their Babies?

According to Dr Jyoti Mahajan, if a pregnant woman is HIV-positive, the virus can reach the baby in three ways: through the placenta during pregnancy, through contact with the mother’s blood and body fluids during delivery, and through breast milk during breastfeeding. “Without treatment, the risk of infection is 15-45 percent. But with timely ART, this risk drops to less than two percent,” he said. READ MORE