If you or your partner have HIV and are considering becoming parents, it is normal to have lots of questions and concerns.
You should know that in recent years, medical advances have significantly improved the quality of life for people with the disease, allowing lots of couples to start a family.
But can you have a child if you have HIV? What are the chances of transmitting the disease to the baby and how can we prevent it? Here, we explain the best procedures for having a child if you have HIV and how follow-up and delivery are carried out in these cases.
Can you have a child if you have HIV?
Yes, it is possible to have a child if you have HIV. With proper treatment and undetectable virus levels, you can have healthy children. However, it is very important to properly plan and coordinate the pregnancy with your doctor to follow all necessary precautions.
For discordant couples (where only one member has HIV), there are specific treatments. In the case of seropositive men, with IVF with previously washed semen, the risks of transmission to the woman are reduced. In the case of seropositive women, to conceive, it is necessary for the viral load to be undetectable.
How to prevent transmitting HIV to the baby
Antiretroviral treatments, cesarean delivery, if the viral load is detectable, and formula feeding are some of the measures that are usually followed to prevent the transmission of the disease to the baby.
Use of antiretroviral drugs
When it comes to preventing HIV transmission to the baby, the most important thing is the use of antiretroviral drugs to lower the viral load to undetectable levels and drastically reduce the risk of transmission.
Cesarean section and breastfeeding
In some cases, when the viral load is not undetectable, it is advisable to schedule a cesarean section to reduce the risk of transmission during delivery. In addition, breastfeeding is strongly discouraged, as the virus could be present in breast milk. Instead, the use of infant formula is recommended.
Treatment of the newborn
In order to protect babies from any virus they may have acquired during delivery, it is recommended that they receive antiretroviral drugs immediately after birth, for at least 4 to 6 weeks. In addition, regular tests should be carried out to check that they are healthy.
Assisted reproduction treatments: the best solution for couples with HIV
For couples where the man is seropositive, the safest way to achieve pregnancy is seminal washing with undetectable viral load in semen and subsequent IVF.
If the risk of transmission persists, another option may be to use donor semen. In this way, the possibility of transmitting HIV to the baby is completely eliminated.
In the case of seropositive women, artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization (IVF) are also the most viable options, as long as the viral load is undetectable or very low. For this, it is necessary to obtain a favorable medical report before proceeding.
How is the follow-up of a pregnancy with HIV?
The follow-up of a pregnancy in women with HIV requires much stricter control than in a normal pregnancy. In general, these types of pregnancies are controlled in High-Risk Units within a hospital, with a multidisciplinary team that includes gynecologists, internists, and neonatologists.
During pregnancy, tests and ultrasounds are carried out every four weeks to monitor the health of the fetus and avoid any type of complication. In addition, regular monitoring of the mother’s viral load and lymphocytes must be carried out to ensure that the disease is perfectly controlled.
What is delivery like with HIV?
Delivery is one of the most critical moments. To reduce the risks of transmission, it is essential that the woman arrives at delivery with the lowest possible viral load. Therefore, if the viral load is not undetectable, a scheduled cesarean section is usually recommended.
In addition, the administration of additional antiretroviral drugs to the mother together with appropriate preventive measures manage to reduce the risks to extremely low levels.
In conclusion, nowadays, having HIV is not an impediment to starting a family, being able to have perfectly healthy children as long as the pregnancy is carefully planned and medical recommendations are followed.
If you have HIV and are considering getting pregnant, consult a fertility specialist so that they can inform you about the available options and design a plan that allows you to make your wish come true with all safety guarantees.
