The other day I received a call from a Gynaecologist of a nearby Hospital.
'I have an ante-natal [pregnancy] patient who is HIV positive. Should I send her to you now or after delivery?'
The doctor was asking me.
I was happy that she called to inform me, but was disappointed with her question. I had spend some effort as an HIV/AIDS trainer to make doctors aware that pregnant women need anti-HIV treatment to prevent the birth of a 'positive' child. I am not sure whether the above-mentioned doctor attended the training, but I expected her to know the importance of ART [anti HIV treatment] in pregnancy.
'You should send her to me immediately. She needs treatment to prevent the birth of a 'positive' child.' I replied.
The next day the patient came with her husband. I explained the situation to them in detail and asked them to attend the Govt ART center as early as possible. I telephoned the ART Medical Officer about this patient and fixed a suitable time for the patient to reach the center.
That lady will get the treatment, which will greatly reduce the chance of the birth of a 'positive' child from about 40% to less than 5%.
All pregnant females should be tested for HIV and if found positive should immediately receive treatment so that we can eliminate the chance of birth an HIV positive child
Monday, February 8, 2010
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4 comments:
Hearing for the first time that treatment is available for HIV +ve pregnant ladies so that babies are tried to be saved.I thought there is no cure and that transmission is 100% sure..
Thanks for the informative post..
Nimmy, yes many do not know this even among health care workers. Without treatment the transmission rate is about 40% in 3rd world countries.With treatment we can reduce it to as low as below 5 %.
Is this the same lady you'd mentioned in your latest blog post? Though, doesn't seem like she's the same.
Ketan, no it is not the same lady. The new post was abt a planned pregnancy in a known hiv pos patient
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