Pregnancies in Perinatally HIV-Infected Young Women and Implications for Care and Service Programs

Mari Millery, Seydi Vazquez, Virginia Walther, Natalie Humphrey, Jennifer Schlecht, Nancy Van Devanter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)41-51
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Volume23
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

Keywords

  • Perinatally acquired HIV
  • Pregnancy
  • Vertical transmission

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Advanced and Specialized Nursing

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