Hi Ms. Southall,

Thank you for your response to my question. It made me feel somewhat better but since I am breastfeeding my infant, the small chance you mentioned still makes me question whether or not an infection could have occurred. I just want to give you some more details and see what your thoughts are. The pap/pelvic exam took place 30 minutes after I sat in the exam room talking to the midwife and receiving a breast exam. Additionally, my appointment was at 9 AM, so not many people could have been in the room before me. I also live in a suburb which has maybe 30 new aids cases per year, only 10% which are women. Also, I did not see if the fingers she used to open the receptacle were the same as the ones she put inside of me. Do you think there is still a small risk???

Can you give me more detail about the documented cases? Are they inner city, free clinics, etc? I feel like I should continue to breastfeed my infant because the chance is remote, but it bothers me that there could still be a slight chance I caught something. And since I have to wait 3 months to know for sure, it leaves me feeling uneasy.

Also, I noticed on a few other similar forum questions to mine that the expert responded that it was impossible for transmission to occur because it wasn't direct and immediate.

Please let me know your thoughts! Thank you so much!!

Sincerely,

A worried mom

Worried mom, You are fine! continue breast feeding your child, there is no risk of transmission. I agree with the other experts on this forum.

Be well and worry free! Shannon