Getting pregnant with HIV
A person with HIV can get pregnant naturally and have children who will not have HIV.
Getting pregnant naturally
Under certain conditions, it is possible for you to have sexual intercourse without a condom with your steady partner (steady relationship) who does not have HIV:
- If, for at least 6 months, the amount of HIV in your blood (viral load) can no longer be detected. If you take your medicines correctly every day, the viral load lowers. After several months, signs of the virus often can no longer be found in a test, and
- If your viral load was checked less than 6 months ago, and
- If you and your partner have no other STI and the mucous membrane of your mouth, anus, penis or vagina is not damaged.
Talk with a doctor and with your partner if you want to have sexual intercourse without a condom.
If getting pregnant naturally is not possible
If it is not possible to get pregnant in a natural way, there is another option:
If the man has HIV
The HIV virus is inside the man’s semen.
- A doctor can “wash” the semen to remove the virus .
- The doctor inserts the washed semen into the woman’s uterus with a syringe.
If the woman has HIV
- The egg cell does not contain the virus.
- A doctor inserts the man’s semen into the uterus with a syringe.
Pregnancy and HIV
A pregnant woman with HIV has to take medicines during pregnancy and delivery. In this case, more than 99% of babies are born without HIV.
In most cases, a woman with HIV can have a natural delivery. The doctor decides whether the woman has a natural delivery or a caesarean section.
The baby is given medicines after birth.
The breast-milk contains the HIV virus. This means the mother cannot breast-feed. There are other ways to bond with your baby.