Preconception Strategies
If a couple with HIV is planning to conceive, preparation is needed.
There are benefits and risks to each of these options.
With that said, there is little data currently available to assess the drug’s safety in pregnancy.
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This includes understanding the need for routinetestingto ensure that HIV transmission has not occurred.
Reinfection can lead to transmitted resistance in which a drug-resistant variant is passed to a partner.
If this happens, certain HIV drugs may not work as well.
This ensures that you only have condomless sex when conception is possible.
Outside this fertile window,condoms should be used.
Once a pregnancy is confirmed, the partner with HIV would continue antiretroviral therapy.
The partner without HIV can decide whether to continue PrEP or not.
From that point forward, the focus would be placed on ensuring a safe pregnancy.
The options vary based on which partner has HIV.
This involves separatingspermfrom HIV-infected seminal fluids for use ineither IUI or IVF.
The one limiting factor of IUI and IVF is cost.
The partner with HIV would need to be on antiretroviral therapy to suppress the virus to undetectable levels.
The partner without HIV should consider using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to lower the risk of getting HIV.
When these strategies are used together, the risk of HIV transmission can be eliminated.
World Health Organization.Living with HIV when one partner is positive and the other is negative.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves first injectable treatment for HIV pre-exposure prevention.
doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.11.028
Planned Parenthood.What is intrauterine insemination (IUI)?
Planned Parenthood.What is in-vitro fertilization (IVF)?
