Reproductive and Maternal Healthcare Needs of HIV Infected Women

Advances in HIV treatment and prevention of mother to child transmission have effectively reduced mortality and morbidity for women living with HIV and significantly reduced new infections in infants. Women living with HIV require comprehensive, integrated clinical services to address their reproductive and maternal healthcare needs. Guidelines for safer conception counseling with fertile couples recommend discussing fertility and childbearing, addressing contraception with those not wishing to conceive, and clarification of strategies to conceive for those wishing to do so. Services pre-conception to postpartum should emphasize HIV testing for mother, partner and infant, encourage the maintenance of medication adherence and promote engagement and retention in care, and ensure supportive and non-judgmental patient education by healthcare providers. Behavioral, psychosocial and healthcare factors can have profound effects on pregnancy outcomes, and male involvement and enhanced provider involvement throughout the reproductive process has been recommended to reduce transmission and enhance medication adherence and uptake