Maternal and fetal outcomes in HIV positive pregnant female

Abstract

Mother to child transmission (MTCT) is not an uncommon mode of HIV transmission, especially in resource poor countries. The transmission of HIV from HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding is called mother-to-child transmission. According to current NACO guidelines pregnant women who are found HIV positive, should have immediate and lifelong ART to treat HIV and improve her own health, maximally suppress maternal viral load prior to conception to decrease the risk of perinatal transmission and of HIV transmission to an uninfected partner. 1 Sexual partners should be encouraged to receive counseling and HIV testing and, if infected, to seek appropriate HIV care. Although antiretroviral medications have the potential to improve health and extend the life of HIV-infected women, they may also result in unwanted adverse effects that may also compromise successful pregnancy and delivery. HIV infection itself has been associated with varying rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as increased spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, perinatal and infant mortality, intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weights and chorioamnionitis. 2,3

Provision of combined antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive pregnant women and the increased risk of apoptosis-related intra-uterine growth restriction

“…Neonates with IUGR were associated with iatrogenic preterm birth and needed a longer NICU stay [3][4][5]. Mittal et al reported that in a group of patients who received longer cART, the incidence of IUGR was 27%, which was associated with apoptosis-related placental insufficiency [6].…”