Belagavi district has one of the highest HIV infected women, but gone are the days when HIV positive couples could only dream of having children. Innovations in medical science today has made giving birth to HIV negative babies a reality in India.
The three-drug combination brought down this risk to a complete zero. The mothers can now also confidently breastfeed their babies without fears of spreading the virus.
Belagavi institute of medical Science (BIMS) is looking after this treatment an the results are very encouraging.
According to the sources from BIMS, highest number of pregnant women suffering by HIV have successfully given birth to babies in BIMS which is record in entire Karnataka. From January 2014 to till March 2017, total of 240 women affected by HIV gave birth and amongst them two were stillborn while 3 babies have been infected by HIV and remaining 235 babies born are healthy and free from the HIV infection.
How to save babies from HIV infection?
Putting infected expectant mothers on anti-retro viral therapy as soon as pregnancy is discovered is an essential intervention. At birth, the baby is also put on a brief six-week therapy to combat the threat. This protocol can successfully prevent mother-to-child transmission in most cases. Since, breastfeeding can also transmit the HIV, infants born to infected mothers are recommended formula milk as a safe alternative to breast-milk
If this process has been conducted properly, then there will be less than 1 % chances of HIV infection to baby from mother says Dr Vasant Kabbur, head of Labor ward, BIMS.