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Prenatal HIV testing

I had prenatal labs drawn 3 weeks ago, and one of the tests was an HIV test.  If my results were positive would the doctor have notified me or have had me come in, or would he make me wait untill my next appointment.  I am just worried about my baby. I am now 12 weeks along. Thank you.
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Avatar universal
I was an HIV/AIDS peer educator for the Red Cross, teaching high school students about the risks of contracting HIV (but we touched on pregnancy and other STDs). We just never covered this specific topic, so I completely made an assumption.

Thankfully there are ways women can reduce their risks of passing it to baby in the womb. I saw where you found that quote (American Pregnancy Association) and they had a whole list of ways to reduce exposure to unborn babies.
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640548 tn?1340553355
It's not common, the placenta shields a lot of the virus, but if there is a high maternal viral load there is a higher risk of the transmission occurring.  I only knew it was a possibility because I spent time working with high risk women.
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Avatar universal
mikaleen- I stand corrected! You are definitely right.
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640548 tn?1340553355
You absolutely can transmit it during pregnancy, just as other virus' can be transmitted during pregnancy.

According to the March of Dimes, there are an estimated 120,000 to 160,000 women in the United States who have been infected with HIV. About 6,000 to 7,000 of women infected with HIV give birth annually. Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, approximately 15,000 children in the United States have been infected with HIV and 3,000 children have died. About 90 percent of those were infected with the virus during pregnancy or birth.

HIV transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding is called perinatal transmission. Perinatal HIV transmission is the most common way children are infected with HIV.
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Avatar universal
First, you cannot transmit HIV to your unborn baby. HIV is contracted via blood, semen, breastmilk and vaginal fluids. The only risk to your baby would be during birth- and in that case they'd deliver them very carefully via c-section.

If you were HIV positive your doctor would definitely notify you; whether they wait until your next appointment or not is per their discretion. Most of the time, if it is negative, they never bring the tests up. They only bring it up if you test positive on something.
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640548 tn?1340553355
They would call you right away and
1. Have you come in for a confirmation test and
2. start treatment immediately, because the earlier you begin treatment the better the chances of not transmitting the infection to the baby.  If you have not heard in 3 weeks you're looking good for a negative test.
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514428 tn?1287598456
I've had the test done with all my pregnancies and all came back negative.  I wouldn't hear anything until my following appointment.  But I know if something is wrong, they usually call you to come on ASAP...atleast that's how my doctor is.  Good luck
Helpful - 0
613536 tn?1294238447
Every doctor is different, but I do believe screening for HIV is very common.... they did it to me twice because they lost the first results...  My doctor only phones if there is a problem.  If you are HIV positive, I would like to think they would inform you asap.
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