The evolving art of caring for pregnant women with HIV infection.
Care for the pregnant woman who has human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is highly complex and constantly evolving. The purpose of this article is to describe the pertinent issues regarding women and HIV during pregnancy, including epidemiology of mother-to-child transmission, the effect of the disease on pregnancy, care issues in the perinatal period, and the issues in women's lives that place them at risk for HIV infection. Antiretroviral therapy offers significant reduction in the rate of mother-to-child transmission, and this is presently the cornerstone of therapy for the pregnant woman with HIV. Careful intrapartum management may also reduce the risk of transmission. Clinical studies of treatment modalities continue to offer new hope to prevent transmission of the virus to the fetus.
Katz
Anne
A
Faculty of Nursing, 491 Helen Glass Centre for Nursing, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. anne_katz@umanitoba.ca
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents