Which statement about the management of HIV-positive parturients is most likely true?
The majority of women with HIV infection are of childbearing age. When caring for the HIV-positive obstetric patient, the obstetrician and anesthesiologist are concerned about the interactive effects that HIV and pregnancy have on the parturient as well as the risk of virus transmission to the baby. Pregnancy has not been shown to adversely affect disease progression.
A variety of strategies have been used to significantly reduce maternal to child HIV transmission. Without any therapy directed towards the HIV infection during pregnancy and delivery, transmission rates as high as 40 percent have been reported. However, those rates have been successfully decreased to 1–2 percent in developed countries through a combination of strategies that include:
Maternal to child transmission of the virus occurs most frequently during the intrapartum period. As a result, cesarean delivery before labor commences has become...
