Pregnancy HIV Risks for Men and Women
posted: 17/01/2011
A new study shows that a man's risk of getting HIV from a woman partner doubles when she is pregnant. Other studies have told us that women are more likely to get HIV from men when the woman is pregnant. This is the first study showing that a woman being pregnant raises men’s risk of getting HIV from her.
The results come from the Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study, of 3,210 couples, where one partner has HIV and the other partner does not, in seven African countries.
Pregnancy and HIV infections
61 women got HIV during the two year study period and 28% of these women were pregnant; 57 men got HIV during the two years of the study while 21% of these men's partners were pregnant.
Analysing these results showed that pregnancy roughly doubles the HIV risk for both sexes, but other factors, such as sexual behaviour, makes a difference for some women and men.
Among men, uncircumcised men, and men who did not use condoms, are much more likely to get HIV when their partner is pregnant.
Pregnancy changes biology
One of the study investigators, Dr Nelly Mugo, of the Kenyatta National Hospital and University of Nairobi, and of the University of Washington in Seattle, suggests that biological changes during pregnancy might explain higher female-to-male HIV transmission during pregnancy.
Men should take HIV tests at antenatal clinics along with their partner
The increased risk of HIV infection for men when their partner is pregnant emphasises the need for men to join their women partners and get tested for HIV at antenatal visits.
These study results were presented at the International Micobicides Conference, Pittsburg, USA.
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