CD4 and pregnany

[Michelle25]

Hi everyone, I am just wondering how high my CD4 should be before trying to get pregnant?

 I am positive and my husband is negative. What are the best methods to get pregnant so as not to cause any risk to my husband.

What are the important things to consider when wanting to get pregnant and when pregnant. I am taking meds and never miss them.

We really long to have a baby but want to do things right for everyones sake.

thanks xxx

[Sweet_C]

For pregnancy, the most important thing is that you're undetectable.  Transmission of the virus to the baby happens pretty much either at the time of conception or the time of delivery.  Being undetectable at the time of delivery almost completely eliminates the chances of transmitting the virus to your baby.  In my research, I was unable to find a case where a woman had transmitted HIV to her fetus where she was undetectable both at the time of conception and at the delivery.  In case where the woman was not undetectable at the time of conception, well under 1% of those women ended up giving HIV to their babies.

I'm not sure about the cd4s.  My doc didn't mention anything about it back when I conceived my first in 2010 or when we tried again for #2 this year.  My impression is that the main thing is being undetectable.

As for protecting your HIV- hubby, this is not something I had to deal with because my hubby is also poz.  If you want to eliminate the risk of him getting it 100%, you might try some form of artificial insemination (i.e. "turkey baster" method).  It's expensive if you go through the doctor's office, but I believe it's easy enough to do at home.  I know some couples just try naturally because the risks of transmission to the male partner are extremely low, esp if you're undetectable, but that would have to be something you both are on board with because the risk is definitely not zero.

[Michelle25]

Thank u so much for your advice, how was your pregnancy? I already have 2 daughters but they are much older so all this is completely new to me. my cd4 is on the low side so having a baby now is out of the question but my viral load is undetectable. would it be ok to add u to my buddy list for the future for advice. x

[kntrymama]

As the other poster mentioned in terms of protecting you neg hubby, I'm actually in the opposite boat, I'm negative and my SO is positive. He originally came into the relationship with the idea that our only option was IUI or IVF, but from my research and talking with my doctor, it's not necessary, transmission female to male is lower than male to female and even we got the go ahead that putting me on PrEP and us TTC naturally would be no issue when the time comes so long as his VL is undetectable.  I would suggest just talking with your doctor, but know that TTC naturally shouldn't be an issue so long as your VL is undetectable.

[Snowangel]

We had a doc speak at our support group the other day and he said that you could use a turkey baster. Did not sound like fun, but I guess it works.

Good luck!

[Sweet_C]

Michelle, sorry it took me so long to get back to you but my pregnancy with dd was a breeze and the labor and delivery were uncomplicated.  My doctors had no experience with dealing with HIV+ moms but my ID doc assured me it was no different than any other pregnancy other than the intravenous AZT during labor and delivery.  I'm now 8 weeks pregnant with #2.

Good luck!

[mskandy01]

This really info really helps because I was going to ask a similar question.
My doc told me that since im undetectable that I can try for a baby if I want and my cd4 was at 349 then now  at its @550. No matter what  I was told that on the safe side I would have a c-section to help prevent the baby from geting it even with me undetectable.
I really want a baby I don't have any and I can't see myself using a turkey baser to get pregnant.


Good luck Michelle

[Sweet_C]

mskandy, you might want to confirm your doc has the most up-to-date info when it comes to c-sections versus natural delivery.  It was originally thought that c-sections were automatically safer, but recently studies have shown that there is no benefit to having a c-section when the mom is undetectable, all other things being equal.  In fact, women with a viral load of up to 1000 copies per ml are able to safely deliver vaginally. 

[TabooPrincess]

Hi there

I was neither undetectable at conception or delivery (almost got there but not quite see my numbers below!)

Cd4 count drops during pregnancy anyway, well it certainly did for me before the meds kick in.

Follow all medical advice and your baby will be fine :-) enjoy!