The use of HIV treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission

  • Effective HIV treatment can reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission dramatically, by lowering maternal viral load, and by reducing the presence of HIV in cervical and vaginal fluids.
  • The transmission rate for babies of women on combination therapy and with a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml is 0.1%.
  • When a pregnant woman should start treatment, and on which regimen, will depend on her particular clinical situation and are covered in BHIVA guidelines.
This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.