Managing HIV in pregnancy in a community-based sexual health clinic: a decade in review

Abstract

The management of HIV in pregnancy has evolved significantly over the past 10 years as our experience of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has grown. We reviewed 109 pregnancies which were managed at our community-based integrated HIV and sexual health clinic to investigate preconception and antenatal care, and trends in ART over time. We document an increasing proportion of pregnancies in which the mother was aware of her HIV status pre-conception and conception on ART. Pre-conception care was sought in a minority of cases, and many women did not present for first antenatal review until the end of the second trimester. Of 108 live births, there was one case of vertical transmission (0.93%). While our study demonstrates the efficacy of current strategies to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV infection, more could be done to encourage HIV-positive women to seek preconception advice and to attend for early review in the first trimester.