Can Arvs harm my unborn baby?

If you are a woman living with HIV, taking antiretroviral treatment correctly during pregnancy and breastfeeding can virtually eliminate the risk of passing on the virus to your baby.

Are antiretroviral drugs safe in pregnancy?

All pregnant women with HIV should take HIV medicines throughout pregnancy for their own health and to prevent perinatal transmission of HIV. (HIV medicines are called antiretrovirals). Perinatal transmission of HIV is also called mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Most HIV medicines are safe to use during pregnancy.

When should I take antiretrovirals during pregnancy?

2-38 When can pregnant women be started on antiretroviral treatment? ARV treatment should be started on the day of diagnosis. If HIV is diagnosed early in pregnancy, the recommendation is to commence FDC only at 12 weeks if the mother is healthy and does not require ARV drugs for her own health.

In which trimester of pregnancy is antiretroviral therapy safe?

Initiate treatment as soon as possible, including in the first trimester. The preferred initial regimen in pregnancy is a backbone of dual nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) with either ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor (PI) or an integrase Inhibitor.

What are side effects of Arvs?

Other side effects from antiretroviral drugs can include:

• hypersensitivity or allergic reactions, with symptoms such as fever, nausea, and vomiting.
• bleeding.
• bone loss.
• heart disease.
• high blood sugar and diabetes.
• lactic acidosis (high lactic acid levels in the blood)
• kidney, liver, or pancreas damage.

How safe is antiretroviral therapy in pregnancy?

Antiretroviral Therapy in Pregnancy: How Safe It Is? 1 Risks of HIV infection during pregnancy. HIV infection is a serious medical condition… 2 Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) The current state of art of the treatment… 3 Pregnancy registry. The FDA has a registry that pregnant women who took/take antiretroviral drugs…

Is it safe to take HIV medications during pregnancy?

All pregnant women with HIV should start taking HIV medicines as soon as possible during pregnancy. In most cases, women who are already on an effective HIV regimen when they become pregnant should continue using the same regimen throughout their pregnancies.

What happens to HIV medications during childbirth?

During childbirth, HIV medicines that pass from mother to baby across the placenta prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, especially near delivery. Women who are already taking HIV medicines when they go into labor should continue taking their HIV medicines on schedule as much as possible during childbirth.

Is nevirapine safe to take during pregnancy?

Another Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (Nevirapine) is considered safe for the baby, but can cause liver damage in the mother, especially when the mother has never taken any antiretroviral therapy before, or if her CD4 cell counts are greater than 250 cells/mm3.