Women at high risk for HIV: Pregnancy and risk behaviors

Pregnancy may provide an opportunity for behavior change among women at high risk for HIV. Baseline and six-month follow-up data were collected from a national sample of female injection drug users (IDUs) and sexual partners of injection drug users (SPs). Repeated measures analyses were conducted separately for three groups of IDUs (pregnant at baseline, became pregnant between baseline and follow-up, and not pregnant during the study) and three similar groups of SPs. Results indicated that both pregnant and not pregnant high risk women reported significant levels of risk reductions at follow-up. IDUs who were pregnant or became pregnant reported greater reductions in drug injection rates, were more likely to report entering drug treatment and reported the greatest reduction in sex risks compared to IDUs who were not pregnant. Results suggest that the period of pregnancy provides an opportunity for changes in risk behaviors. Innovative outreach efforts and increases in treatment options are needed.