We are discordant and want a baby

Jan 18, 2009

HIV is found in body fluids including semen. When un-infected individuals come into contact with these fluids from infected people, HIV transmission occurs.

Face HIV with Dr. Watiti

Dear Doctor,
My husband is HIV-positive and I am negative. We want to get another child. Is it true that if we put the semen in a syringe and inject it in my vagina after using a condom, the spread of HIV is reduced?
Flavia

Dear Flavia,
HIV is found in body fluids including semen. When un-infected individuals come into contact with these fluids from infected people, HIV transmission occurs.

It is not true that injecting semen into the birth canal is less infective.
Use condoms consistently and avoid exposure to his body fluids.

If your husband is not on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), he should be assessed and if he is eligible, he should be put on the drugs.

Studies show that people who are on ARVs with maximum suppression of the virus are not as infective as their counterparts who are not.

If your husband is not yet on ARVs because his CD4 count is high, and you are in Kampala or its surroundings, you could join the Partners Pre-exposure, a study being conducted by The Infectious Disease Institute, Makerere Medical School.

HIV-negative partners will be given a drug called Truvada, one of the first line ARVs in Uganda to ascertain whether pre-exposure prophylaxis can prevent HIV transmission among discordant couples.

Choosing not to have another baby in order to prevent new infections of HIV among discordant couples and eventually parent-to-child-transmission should be considered and discussed with a counsellor.

You can also adopt an orphan whose parents died of HIV/AIDS.

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