Foeto-maternal outcome of HIV-positive pregnant women on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

Background: A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in pregnant women is
an important medical challenge. There exist varied reports on the foeto-maternal
outcome amongst HIV positive women in Africa. Aim: The study was to compare the foeto-maternal outcome among HIV-positive pregnant women who are on HAART with those that are HIV-negative. Methods: A comparative, case-control study of booked HIV-positive and HIV-negative women attending ante-natal clinic (ANC) in Abuja. One hundred and five serial eligible HIV-positive women who booked for ante-natal care between October 8, 2012 and April 29, 2013 were recruited and matched with the control. They were followed up to six weeks post-partum. Live babies were tested for HIV using DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at six weeks post-partum. The data was analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 16. Chisquare at < 0.05 at confidence level of 95% and Student t-test were used to determine significant association. Results: There were 112 HIV positive pregnant women among 1683 pregnant women during the study period giving a prevalence of 6.7%. The rate of preterm delivery was significantly higher among the HIV positive women (33% Vs 18%, P= 0.005). There was no case of vertical transmission.

Conclusion: Maternal HIV infection was significantly associated with preterm delivery. There was no recorded vertical transmission. Strengthening the use of HAART may maintain zero vertical transmission among other precautionary measures.