Is It Possible for Someone With HIV to Have Healthy Children?

There are many ways that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) can spread from one person to another. One of the ways is perinatal HIV transmission. This is when a mother transmits HIV to the child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. 

When Thamicha Isaac got her HIV diagnosis in 2003, she thought her “life was over.” She thought her dreams of getting married and having children were ruined.

This turned out to be wrong: “I was able to give birth to two children who are HIV negative because of me adhering to my medication,” says Isaac, “and because of how far the science [has] come for women living with HIV.”

How do you reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to your child during pregnancy?

It’s very possible today to live with HIV and have healthy kids who are HIV negative. Since the 1990s, the number of children who have a perinatal HIV infection has decreased by over 90 percent, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Today’s treatments for HIV (called antiretroviral therapy) are highly effective for most people. These medications help keep your viral load low. Your viral load is the amount of virus in the bloodstream. 

“If you have HIV and you are taking antiretrovirals, then you have a very low amount of HIV in your blood,” says Stella Safo, MD, Internist at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

When your viral load is low enough (to the level that it’s undetectable in a standard blood test), you have a much lower chance of transmitting HIV to others. This includes perinatal HIV transmission.

How do you reduce perinatal transmission after childbirth?

Even after giving birth to a child who is HIV negative, there are still some risks for transmission to consider. For example, since HIV can transmit through breast milk, experts recommend avoiding breastfeeding completely. 

“After I gave birth to my first son, the first couple months, my anxiety was through the roof,” says Thamicha. “I didn't want to give HIV to this kid.”

Thamicha shares that her children both received antiretroviral therapy for the first six weeks after birth. The National Institutes of Health also recommends HIV testing for babies at three points after birth:

• Between 2 and 3 weeks

• Between 1 and 2 months

• Between 4 and 6 months

How parenthood has impacted Thamicha

“I never doubted the science after that,” says Thamicha after seeing both her children remain HIV negative. She says that the experience inspired her to become an advocate to help other people with HIV who wanted to become parents.

“Accepting my diagnosis and fully living my authentic self [made me realize] that I do deserve everything in life that I desire,” says Thamicha. “I control what the next phase of my life looks like — HIV positive or not.”

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Written by:

Lauren Smith, MA

Lauren Smith, MA, has worked in health journalism since 2017. Before joining GoodRx, she was the senior health editor and writer for HealthiNation.

Reviewed by:

Alexandra Schwarz, MD

Alexandra Schwarz, MD, is a board-eligible sleep medicine physician and a board-certified family medicine physician. She is a member of both the AASM and the ABFM.

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