How can HIV affect an unborn baby?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It attacks the white blood cells - the part of the blood that fights illness. HIV therefore makes you very vulnerable to infections.

An unborn baby is at risk of contracting HIV if its mother is HIV positive before she becomes pregnant, or if she's exposed to HIV during pregnancy. Exposure to HIV can happen in several ways, including through sexual contact with someone who is HIV positive, and by being injected with an infected needle.

As part of their routine prenatal care program, all pregnant women should be offered a blood test for HIV. If HIV is diagnosed, steps can be taken to help reduce the likelihood of passing the infection to the baby. These steps include the use of antiretroviral medication for the mother and her newborn baby, giving birth by Caesarean section, and avoiding breastfeeding.

If you're HIV positive, but you're well during your pregnancy, there is no increased risk of your baby being underweight, or premature. However, if you are ill during pregnancy, your baby is more likely to need special care when it is born.

Blood tests can be carried out after birth to find out whether your baby has HIV. When your baby is first born, they will have some HIV antibodies (infection-fighting parts of the blood) which come from you, but this does not mean that they have HIV themselves. A proper diagnosis, detecting the active virus in the blood, can usually be made by the time your baby is 18 months old. However, some tests can give accurate results sooner.