POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Positive Women => Topic started by: keepingfaith on June 21, 2010, 08:43:07 am
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I am 3 months pregnant and HIV+. i was wondering if any of you ladies are pregnant or have been pregnant while +. I was wondering what to expect and how did the baby come out. The dr. took me off meds until I am 13 weeks which is next week. I am having a c-section. I'm just a little nervous.
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I was HIV- when I gave birth to all of my children so I have little advise in that area. But I noticed some concern over having a c-section....all 3 of my children were born via c-section. Scheduled c-sections are by far easier than if you were to have an emergency one during labor. I've experienced both scheduled and emergency.
C-sections are kinda scary but really, it's a piece of cake. I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. Just enjoy being pregnant. Congrats on the new addition!
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Hi there. I recently had a baby while HIV +. It was scary for sure, but the doctors have figured out how to keep your baby negative. My son is 16 months old now , he is HIV negative and very healthy !
Listen to your doctor. In my case, I took medication (Combovir and Kaletra) during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, I believe I started at 14 weeks. I also had a planned C-section which was not pleasant but I was also completely OK with doing that. I think it is easier on your body than an un-planned one, and it helps that you know going into it what to expect. Some women choose to give birth vaginally even with HIV, your doctor will advise you if that is in option for you. My doctor actually advised me to have a vaginal birth but I felt more comfortable with the C-section even though I was undetectable, it just made me feel safer so my doctor allowed me to choose.
I believe the risk to your baby if your viral load is low is something like less than 1 or 2 %, so very good.
I also gave my son liquid AZT every 6 hours for the first 6 weeks of his life. I was worried beforehand that this would be difficult, but it really was OK. He tolerated it just fine, and the first 6 weeks go so fast it was done before I knew it. He got tested I think at 2 weeks and 2 months for HIV, and then again at about 4 months. All negative.
I was also worried about what people would figure out since I am not open with my status, my parents do not know I have HIV. It really all worked out. It was easy to hide the medicine even when my Mom was around, and luckily she was not too worried about me not breast feeding. I just told people that wanted to ask that it didn't work out with breast feeding, and most people did not push beyond hearing that. And still, when people I don't know that well ask me about breast feeding I just nod my head as though I know what they are talking about, since I really have no idea what it is like !
Good luck and please email me if you want to talk to somebody that has been through it recently. Enjoy your little one :) -
sara
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Thank you ladies. I'm basically worried about my child being born with it. This will be my second c-section so I kind of know what to expect. Im just worried about ppl finding out about my stat. I am not having my baby in our town im going into another town, where I go to my ID dr. They have all been very nice. They are not pressuring me to get my tubes tied or anything even though I will be getting them done. Im just praying for a Happy Healthy baby. At what months do the baby get tested after they are born and do you take them to the childrens dr. or a special dr. like my ID dr.
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Hi keepingfaith!
I am currently 5 weeks pregnant with my first child and poz. I have read a lot on HIV transmission to infants and I am satisfied that the risk is pretty much nonexistent if you have proper pre and post natal care. Of course, I'll probably still be anxious when the baby is being tested, but I guess that comes with the territory. At least at this stage, I'm much more worried about whether the pregnancy is progressing as it should and birth defects than HIV especially since my doc kept me on Combivir/Reyataz/Norvir during the first trimester.
Here's to a happy and healthy nine months! :)
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HI KEEPING, you and the baby are going to be just fine!
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Thanks netta!
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I've just been through this and my boy is 6 months old now and negative. Rest assured that mother to child transmission in the west has pretty much been eradicated provided you follow medical advice. I had a c-section because I didn't manage to get to undetectable, my waters broke before I was due for this too so it all went crazy. Just one thing, I struggled to bond with my baby at first because I was so scared that he would be ill - just be aware of that and it's normal. If you need to ask me anything then feel free to message me. It was the hardest time of my life but now I have a lovely healthy baby and so will you!!!
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I am kinda scared right now. My ID Dr. Called yesterday and said that I have yo go in for an ultrasound Tuesday to look for adnormalities on the baby because I was on ATRIPLA before I found out. I found out when I was 8 weeks and I stopped the MEDS.until last week in which o was 15 weeks.4.days. I'm on kaletra and combivar. Do u ladies think my baby will be ok. N have any of you.been faced with this.
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I am kinda scared right now. My ID Dr. Called yesterday and said that I have yo go in for an ultrasound Tuesday to look for adnormalities on the baby because I was on ATRIPLA before I found out. I found out when I was 8 weeks and I stopped the MEDS.until last week in which o was 15 weeks.4.days. I'm on kaletra and combivar. Do u ladies think my baby will be ok. N have any of you.been faced with this.
Your baby will be fine - they have to do all sorts of tests just to tick the boxes. I had to go for loads of growth scans, they said the meds may affect size. My baby is massive now!!! How are you feeling otherwise?
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I feel pretty good. Still working and going to school. I seem to be a little tired during the days and cant sleep at night. Lol. How are you doing.
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That's good - I felt great during my pregnancy to be honest, probs the lack of alcohol helped!! lol I had the squits with the medication but otherwise nothing. Don't worry, all will be fine but I do know how you feel, it's really scarey!
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congrats Keeping! im sure you'll both be fine..
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Keeping, I think your baby will be just fine too. When my doc was explaining all the medication options, she mentioned that she's had some people who, for whatever reason, stayed on Atripla during the entire pregnancy and everything was fine with the baby. Only a very small percentage of babies exposed to it have birth defects, but the ones who do have very severe ones.
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Congrats to you, hope all goes well with you and the baby. I am pregnant as well 18 weeks and it was nothing planned but I decided to keep it. I do get anxious at times but I just have to try and believe what the Dr tell me. I do have endless test as well and at some point I thought I am running out of blood but then again some of these test they have to do them just to be on the safe. All the best in the coming months
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keeping: I just recently found out I was positive while carrying mine and my husband's first child, but I didn't find out until late in the pregnancy and didn't start my meds until almost the end of the pregnancy due to insurance problems with covering them and we didn't have the money to pay for them. Well, I was on my meds for about 2 weeks before having my son who came about 3 weeks early. When I went in to have him, I wasn't able to be on the IV meds for the full hour because his heart rate started dropping after my epidural. However, my doctors were very helpful in everything and were constantly looking out for what was best for me and my baby. My son will be a month old on August 26 and I have his first results back, which were negative. Usually after you have the baby your ID doctor should set up an appointment right away for your baby to be seen as soon as possible,usually at least 2 weeks old, by a pediatric ID specialist, or at least my doctor did. It does depend on how booked the doctor is for how soon your baby is seen, but when you do get him/her in to see them, that should be when you find out the results of the initial testing that was done with blood drawn right after birth. Then the Pediatric ID doc will have you set up appointments starting at 2 months and then having followup appointments every 2 months. Yes, this is going to be a long and challenging road, but keep your chin up and listen to what your doctors tell you to do. They only have your and your baby's best interests at heart. As for the ultrasouns, they are necessary to keep a close eye on how the baby is developing and make sure n complications arise. Once I hit my third trimester I had an ultrasound every two weeks to monitor his growth and make sure nothing was going wrong. The biggest thing they want to keep an eye on is the baby's weight and structure development. My son was born on the small size but he was healthy. Since you've been thru a c-section already I guess you know THAT is no big deal. Just keep your chin up and don't get discouraged, and remember that there are other people out there who are going thru or have been thru the same thing your are and they are here to help you and talk to. Hope this helps you understand things a little better. Good luck and congrats!!
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Thank all you ladies for you comments and your stories. I am getting a little better. I feel more confident that my SON, will be okay. I found out on August the 8th that we are having a little boy. So that makes 2 boys and 1 girl for me. I think worrying about his and my health has kept me from bonding with him. It is getting better now. So now i'm just worried about his test results when he comes out and how cute he is going to be. I'm starting to feel myself getting excited. I am 21 weeks 1 day today. I have 18 weeks to go since I am having a c-cestion.
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congrats girl! just remember this: if u start havin contractions or THINK it might be contractions before ur scheduled date, GO SEE UR DOCTOR OR GO TO THE HOSPITAL U WILL DELIVER AT IMMEDIATELY,DONT WAIT!! u have to be put on IV meds n be on them at least an hour before delivering to help lower baby's risk of infection even more. just some first hand advice.i almost didnt get there in time, i was a 5 when my doc told me to GO GO GO NOW!! lol.stay alert n no what ur preterm/earrly labor signs r!