Infant Feeding Guide

posted: 23/04/2010

The advice for new mothers with HIV is not to breastfeed, but to use milk formula instead, because there is a small risk of HIV transmission through breast milk. New, draft, guidance from the British HIV and Children’s HIV Associations (BHIVA/CHIVA) updates this message and continues to advise women in the UK not to breastfeed, whatever the woman's viral load and antiretroviral therapy.
 

Milk formula is best

All HIV positive mothers should be supported to formula-feed their infants. This means that formula milk and appropriate equipment (including sterilisers and bottles) must be freely available, as part of the package of care to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
 

In the UK the risk of mother-to child transmission from a woman who is on HAART and has a consistently undetectable HIV viral load is likely to be low, but we don’t know the exact risk.
 

Although formula feeding is still the best and safest option in the UK to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV, if a woman is on effective HAART and chooses to exclusively breast-feed having carefully considered this advice, she should be supported to do so as safely, and for as short a period, as possible.
 

Don't mix breast and formula
The exact risk of mixing breastfeeding with milk formula feeding is not known, but mixed feeding is not recommended. If there is to be any breastfeeding, breast feed only. 

Intensive support and monitoring of the mother and infant is recommended during any breast-feeding period.

Monthly maternal viral load testing is recommended.

To identify any drug toxicity or HIV transmission in the infant, monthly HIV assessment is advised.

Draft Infant feeding guidance
Comments by Friday 21 May 2010 here please