POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Positive Women => Topic started by: mara_99 on June 21, 2011, 03:15:56 pm
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Hi girls,
I just came from my doctor today and told her about my pregnancy plans; she was a little disappointing, she told me there are no guarantees the baby will be HIV negative all though I will be undetectable at birth. When I told her that - in those cases - the woman may have not been undetectable during conception - she said she didn't have details on that...Also, she told me that ARV is the type of medicine that may lead to malformations or defects, and there have been a few cases...:((( On the other hand, she admited that she doesn't have many patients that gave birth and the ones who did are doing fine...
I know that theoretically there are no guarantees, but I also know that all cases I read about that were undetectable at birth (and better even also at conception) had HIV negative children... And about the malformations, I know that has not been proved....I don't know what to think anymore...:(((( Please tell me more about what you think on this, and especially if you know exact cases...
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Honestly...some of these doctors need to go back to school.
I was @ least three months pregnant when I found out I was positive,my first thought was get an abortion as I was very ignorant back then about this disease.My doctor held my hands,looked me in the eyes and said you're both going to be fine,he informed me the drugs were safe and in the past ten years not one of his patients gave birth to a positive baby and neither would I.He is not God he didn't know that for sure but those words gave me such peace that I went through the pregnancy and delivery with ease.
Fast forward to four years later,I have the most amazing daughter who happens to be the most effective ARV to date.
I strongly suggest you change your doctor because they are our first line of defense in the fight against this disease and they need to be knowledgeable .
Congratulations..and you're both going to be just fine.
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Hi Mara,
I have two friends who are positive and have been on meds for very long. One had a baby 2 years ago ( I accompanied her for delivery) and the other had hers 1 year ago. BOTH BABIES ARE NEGATIVE, AND HAVE NO BIRTH DEFECTS BECAUSE THEIR MOTHERS WERE ON ARV......I am sorry I had to point the last sentence out to you in block letters...but its a fact: ARVs are life saving and are peobably the number one reason these babies are negative and healthy today.
...so maybe you should change doctors....Mine has been advising me to get pregnant if I want..and he tells me I will have a normal baby, and I believe him, because statistics basically say the same thing he has been telling me...and so do the countless mothers on this forum!
Karry
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Hi Mara,
My colleague works with young poz moms who are delivering neg darlin' healthy babies every year!
When I'm in her office, the kids who've grown up stop in to visit. It's tremendous and tear-jerking.
Find the professionals you need to support your goal to be a mom.
Em
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Yeah, I would find another doc too. Some docs are just overly pessimistic in general--not just on hiv, but everyhting. They can make your entire pregnancy miserable.
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change drs and make a complaint asap !!
I am on baby number 3 with very supportive doctors and whilst I have come across my fair share of ignorance in other medical proffesions during this process my own consultant has been wonderful.
I fell pregnant whilst on sustive and continued throughout the pregnancy , not only is this an ARV but it is the one that people are warned not to take when pregnant ( fell pregnant accidently ) I now have a healthy happy little boy plus two negative gorgeous girls and my family is complete.
when I was diagnosed I thought thats it no babies for me but honestly thats not the case.
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Hello,
I found out I was HIV positive during my routine pregnancy bloodwork, HIV is a mystery. I was in a long term relationship with a man since I was 14 (2000). He knew he was HIV positive since 2001 but did not tell me. My first child by him was in 2004 my baby is now 7 and is negative. We broke up but I continued to see him from time to time. The last encounter was in 2007. I found out I was pregnant in 2008, once again a healthy baby. My last pregnancy was shortly after I had my second child, during my pregnancy bloodwork I found out I was HIV positive. Keep in mind my last encounter with this man was in 2007. So why was the virus just now showing positive. I was in the military so we had to get a test done every year. I was dumbfound and the doctors did not believe me because my viral load was so low. Anyway I was told to get an abortion by my doctor, I decided against this and was started on Truvada an Kelatra throughout my pregnancy. In 2009 I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. I had my tubes tied which I regret everyday because I would like one more child. But can not find a doctor who is willing to untie my tubes. To make a long story short, having a baby and being HIV positive can be done. Just take the meds religiously and have faith that the baby will be okay. Best of luck.
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I think it was around the time I was diagnosed I was went to my gyno because I was having problems with precancerous cells on my uterus. My doc wanted me to get a hysterectomy. I was maybe 23?
Unfortunately, just because they are "Dr.(s)" it doesn't mean they know what they are talking about, they might have a clue and baseless facts to throw at you, but it really thier own fears that makes them say that stupid shit. That is what I like to think anyway ;D
I went on to have 2 pregnancies with 4 healthy children.
I think as poz women we are always going to get that negativity from people who don't get that we were all women before we were poz. If anything, having children makes us stronger, we have something to live and fight for.
Go for it, you deserve unconditional love just like everyone else.
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the father of my baby is pos and i am pos, we conceived naturally I was very lucky to have an encouraging Dr even when i was not keen about getting pregnant. with a very supportive health team, right medication you can have a health negative baby even if both of you are pos. I am an example on that.
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Same story for me - my partner was poz too and I wasn't on medication when I found out I was pregnant. I followed UK guidelines and didn't start meds until 20 WEEKS. I wasn't quite undetectable at birth (see sig below) but continued to follow guidelines and my baby boy is negative now and no birth defects. In fact, he's huge and healthy!! Good luck, just go for it!!!
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I have an HIV negative daughter. I am + 15 years and she is 14. My CD4 count was 1,045 and I was undetectable.
My doctors could not guarantee a thing but I went to Harbor UCLA in Torrance, California.