HIV Infection In Pregnancy Research Articles

Screening for HIV infection in pregnancy.

Antenatal HIV screening policies throughout the British Isles were surveyed and results linked to data on HIV-infected pregnant women notified through the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Units offering HIV testing to all pregnant women were compared with those offering it only to women considered to be at risk, and in both situations fewer than 50% of infected women were identified as HIV infected for the first time in antenatal clinics. Based on laboratory reports of HIV infection in women of childbearing age, paediatric reports of children born to HIV positive women and unlinked anonymous neonatal screening programmes, there was evidence of under-recognition of HIV infection in pregnancy, particularly in England and Wales.

HIV Infection in Pregnancy; The Position in the United Kingdom and Europe

HIV Infection in Pregnancy; The Position in the United Kingdom and Europe

HIV infection in pregnancy

HIV infection in pregnancy

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Pregnancy

Many aspects of HIV infection in pregnancy remain unclear. Subsets at increased risk for perinatal transmission, adverse pregnancy outcome, and development of symptomatic HIV infection need to be identified. For instance, relative risks may be quite different in asymptomatic HIV infected patients with T4 lymphocyte counts greater than 200 cells per cubic millimeter compared to those with either symptoms of HIV infection or T4 cell counts less than 200 cells per cubic millimeter. At present, antiviral therapeutic trials do not include pregnant women or neonates less than 3 months of age. In the future, antiviral therapy with agents, such as AZT, may reduce the risk of transplacental and intrapartum HIV transmission. Obstetricians will be involved increasingly in providing care to HIV-infected patients and educating patients in order to prevent HIV infection.

HIV in Pregnancy

Human immunodeficiency virus is becoming increasingly common among childbearing women. Through federally recommended testing programs, obstetricians will soon be identifying pregnant women in their practices who are HIV infected. Hence obstetricians must be prepared to face the social, ethical, and medical dilemmas brought on by HIV infection in pregnancy.