title: Pregnancies in perinatally HIV-infected young women and implications for care and service programs.
abstract: A cohort of individuals with perinatally acquired HIV is maturing into reproductive age. This study describes pregnancy incidence and outcomes among females ages 15-25 with perinatally acquired HIV infection receiving comprehensive family-centered services in New York City. Chart reviews from 1998-2006 indicated 33 pregnancies among 96 young women. Twenty-six percent of the cohort experienced a pregnancy during the study period, with a rate of 125 per 1,000 person years in 2006. The age of first pregnancy ranged from 15-25; 24% were younger than 18. Fourteen pregnancies (42%) were terminated. Nineteen pregnancies resulted in live births, and all infants tested negative for HIV. The success of preventing vertical HIV transmission is attributed to interdisciplinary family-centered services, including reproductive health education, family planning, obstetric-gynecologic services and psychosocial support. Such approach is most likely to be effective at promoting healthy reproductive decisions and reducing morbidity in perinatally infected mothers and their children.
authors.affiliation: Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Millery
authors.forename: Seydi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Humphrey
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlecht
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Devanter
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy