my boyfriend and i are planning a baby but his cd4 is 890 while mine is 230. I am asymptomatoc and my doctor normally asked i could do another control in 3 months but now with the baby she says i would have to start treatment while getting ready for the pregnancy.

i would like to know if this is the normal procedure or i still have to wait till the 2nd semester as another friend of mine did althought her cd4 was at 350. she has a healthy baby boy

thanks for the concern, regards.

It has been standard of care to treat HIV infected women with antiretroviral therapy when appropriate for their own health based on the current recommended guidelines. While this practice has gone on for a long time there have been many women who have become pregnant while on treatment and have continued tgreatment throughout their pregnancy. Fortunately, most of these women have not experienced toxicities to their babies. If therapy is not indicated for the women the standard practice would be to start treatment in the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy. The goal of therapy is to reduce the viral load to undetectable levels. If this can be achieved throughout pregnancy the risk of transmitting HIV to the baby is less than 1 percent.JLS.