Pregnancy and breastfeeding with HIV

People with HIV can pass it on to their babies during pregnancy, birth, and while breastfeeding.

HIV antenatal screening

People with HIV can pass it on to their babies during pregnancy, birth and while breastfeeding. If you are pregnant, you willl be offered a screening test for HIV at the same time as you have your other blood tests. This is a routine part of your antenatal care.

HIV testing in pregnancy (internal link)

If you are found to have HIV, you will be offered treatment that reduces the chance of your pēpi (baby) becoming infected from approximately 25% to less than 2%.

Support for feeding your pēpi (baby)

You have the right to know how to feed your pēpi (baby). All parents with HIV should be offered help to decide how to feed their pēpi.

The help should be:

  • respectful of your culture
  • personalised for you and your whānau
  • available anywhere in Aotearoa New Zealand
  • based on good evidence
  • given by trained staff.

Help should also include:

  • information about different ways to feed your baby, like:
    • formula feeding
    • donor milk (where available) that has been checked to make sure it is safe for your pēpi
    • breast feeding.
  • regular check-ups
  • access to treatments and medications for you and your pēpi.

Feeding options for parents with HIV

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There is no risk of passing HIV to your pēpi (baby) from formula feeding.

There is a low risk of HIV transmission (less than 1%) through exclusive breast feeding if parents take their medicine and have an undetectable viral load. Note that U=U (undetectable = untransmittable) applies to sexual transmission, but not to breast feeding.

There is a high risk of passing HIV to pēpi (baby) from breast feeding when people are not taking HIV medicine, or when their viral load is detectable.

If you choose to breastfeed your pēpi, we recommend you and your pēpi have more frequent check-ups and blood tests to keep the risk of HIV transmission low.

In some countries, breast feeding is recommended for women living with HIV because other feeding options might not be available, affordable, or safe. In those countries, there is a higher risk of pēpi becoming sick or dying from other infections if they are not breastfed. This is not the case in Aotearoa New Zealand, where there are safer pēpi feeding options available for parents living with HIV.

Your HIV specialist will talk to you about feeding options during your pregnancy to help you make the best choice for you and your pēpi.