Every pregnant woman, regardless of her HIV status, should see a doctor regularly to receive prenatal care. Simply put, prenatal care is a specialized type of health care designed to protect the health of both the woman and her developing baby. Prenatal care can help all pregnant women figure out what they should do to improve their diets and vitamin/mineral intake and to reduce unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and doing drugs.
If a pregnant woman does not know whether or not she's HIV positive, it is highly recommended that she be tested as soon as possible. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as other health care agencies and organizations, recommend that all pregnant women be tested for HIV. Pregnant women should also be tested for rubella, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, herpes, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis and syphilis.
If a pregnant woman finds out that she is positive while she is pregnant, or knew that she was positive before getting pregnant, prenatal care programs can help protect her health and the health of her developing baby. Usually, a prenatal care program calls for monthly visits to a clinic or doctor's office for the first eight months of pregnancy. During the eighth and ninth months of pregnancy, visits are more frequent, typically every two weeks.
Prenatal care for women who are HIV positive almost always includes CD4 cell count and viral load tests and HIV drug treatment. It may also include treatments to prevent AIDS-related infections and to manage drug side effects, as well as important nutritional care.
HIV-positive women might want to avoid some aspects of typical prenatal care. For example, amniocentesis, used to test for genetic defects in the baby, is done with a needle that passes through the mother's abdomen and into the womb. While this test may be necessary to look for any genetic problems that a developing baby may have, it can also increase the risk of transmitting HIV.
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