Prenatal HIV testing in Ontario: knowledge, attitudes and practices of prenatal care providers in a province with low testing rates.

To describe the knowledge, attitudes and practices of prenatal care providers in relation to prenatal HIV testing.A stratified random sample of 784 family physicians, 200 obstetricians and 103 midwives providing prenatal care in 3 health planning regions in Ontario received a questionnaire.Response was 622/1087 (57%). Almost half of participants (43%) were not aware of Ontario's prenatal HIV testing policy. Eighty-five percent of participants reported that they offered or ordered HIV testing for all pregnant women. Sixty-six percent agreed that women should have a choice about whether to test or not, and midwives were more supportive of having an informed consent process than were physicians.Knowledge about the risks and benefits of prenatal HIV testing needs to be improved, and standards for informed consent should be re-evaluated to achieve the most ethical process with the least complexity.