Get tested early
Protect yourself and your baby
What if you find out you have HIV?

As mentioned earlier, the chance that HIV infection is transmitted from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy can be reduced to 2% or less (fewer than 2 out of every 100). This is possible because better medicines are available to treat HIV. But first, a pregnant woman and her doctor must know if she is infected with HIV.

Get tested early

If you are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant, get a test for HIV as soon as possible and encourage your partner to get tested as well.  You can visit your regular doctor or prenatal care provider for an HIV test.  You can also visit the National HIV Testing Resources Web site at http://www.hivtest.org or call CDC-INFO 24 Hours/Day at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636), 1-888-232-6348 (TTY), in English, en Español.  It is important to find out early if you or your partner have HIV, because there is a lot you can do to make yourself healthy and to protect your baby.

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Protect yourself and your baby

You can get HIV while you are pregnant.  If you live in certain areas of the country where HIV is more common, your doctor may want to test you again near the end of your pregnancy to make sure you are HIV-free. The same is true if you are having unprotected sex, injecting drugs, or doing anything else that puts you at risk for HIV during your pregnancy.  So be safe and always use a latex condom and lubricant every time you have sex, even when you are pregnant.

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What if you find out you have HIV?

If you have HIV and you are pregnant, there is a lot you can do to keep yourself healthy and not give HIV to your baby.

• Get medical care.  You need to see a doctor or nurse for your pregnancy and your HIV infection.  Sometimes, this can be the same person.  Make an appointment as soon as you know you are pregnant, and keep all of your appointments.
• If your doctor or nurse prescribes drugs for you, take them exactly as the directions say.  This will help keep you healthy, which means you have a better chance of having a healthy baby.
• When you go into labor, get to the hospital early.  At the hospital, you will get more drugs to prevent passing HIV to your baby.  They may also decide to do a cesarean delivery (C-section) if you and your doctor or nurse have not decided on one already. 
• Don't breastfeed.  The virus is in breastmilk, and you can give HIV to your baby by breastfeeding.  Your doctor or nurse will show you how to care for your breasts until they stop producing milk, and you can get help buying baby formula if you need it.
• Give your baby his or her medications.  Your baby will start getting drugs to prevent HIV right after birth.  When you go home from the hospital, you will keep giving drugs to your baby yourself.  Be sure to keep giving the drugs just as the directions say.  Ask your doctor or nurse if you're not sure how to give the drugs--make sure you understand before you go home.  Also, there may be help available if you can't afford the drugs your baby needs.
• Keep your baby's appointments.  You won't know right away if your baby has HIV.  He or she will need to return to the doctor or nurse for checkups and tests over the next several months.  Be sure to go to all of your baby's regular doctor's visits, and go right away if your baby gets sick.

Following all these steps means that your baby will have a very low chance of getting HIV--less than 2 in 100.  It might sound difficult, but there is help available.  To get more information about services available in your area, visit http://granteefind.hrsa.gov/
searchbyprogram.aspx?select=H12&index=174 to find contact information for a Ryan White Title IV grantee in your state or region.

The only way to be absolutely sure your baby will not get HIV, though, is to protect yourself from getting HIV.  Get more information about protecting yourself from HIV.