Open AccessAntiretroviral treatment for pregnant women living with HIV: A summary of issues, interventions, and evidence
Publication year - 2016
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.31899/sbsr2016.1013
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , antiretroviral treatment , medicine , pregnancy , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , antiretroviral therapy , transmission (telecommunications) , environmental health , family medicine , pediatrics , viral load , psychiatry , biology , electrical engineering , genetics , engineering
Antiretroviral treatment (ART) for women living with HIV is vital to ensuring safe motherhood and reducing vertical transmission. Each year, as many as 42,000 women living with HIV die of HIV and pregnancy-related complications. While significant progress has been made with 93% of pregnant women in 22 priority countries who have accessed combination ART (or cART, formerly called HAART), not all pregnant women can access treatment. In low- and middle-income countries in particular, treatment access for pregnant women living with HIV has been hampered by availability of medications and standardized treatment eligibility criteria that traditionally prioritized prevention of HIV transmission to the infant over treatment for the health of the woman. This brief summarizes the issues, interventions, and evidence as of 2016.