Pre-conception Care

With the use of antiretroviral medication and other interventions during pregnancy, the risk of mother-to-child-HIV transmission can be less than 1%. This gives women with HIV infection many fertility options. Providers should discuss reproductive plans with all HIV-infected women of child-bearing age.

For detailed information on preconception care and counseling see College Practice Bulletin #167, Gynecologic Care for Women and Adolescents with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Additional preconception care information for providers and patients is found below.

Provider Education

Slide Set: Reproductive Health and Preconception Care of HIV-Infected Women, produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, gives an overview of the development and implementation of national recommendations on preconception care for women with HIV infection. This presentation includes speaker notes and may be tailored to a particular audience or venue.

Slide Set: Preconception Care and Contraception for HIV-infected Women, produced by Deborah Cohan, MD, MPH from the University of California at San Francisco, describes elements of a preconception evaluation, counseling points, and safe contraception for HIV-infected women in serodiscordant relationships.