Written by Justin Herrera

POint of View:
VIDEO: 'We know little' about HIV treatment options for pregnant women

USC professor of medicine, Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH speaks about the lack of FDA approved antiretroviral treatment options that are approved or recommended in pregnancy. The lack of research stems from an exclusion of pregnant women in HIV treatment research. This exclusion leaves many questions unanswered surrounding possible treatment side effects on pregnancy. Dr. Gandhi posits that contrary to current practice where pregnant women are often excluded from trials, it would be unethical to continue excluding them since they are an important population for HIV treatment.

Resource:
Women Living with HIV: Undetectable=Untransmittable/Living Proof

HIVE, a San Francisco-based hub of positive sexual and reproductive health, has provided preconception and prenatal care to women and couples affected by HIV in San Francisco since 1989. Their ‘Women Living with HIV’ page features informational brochures, in both English and Spanish, on HIV and pregnancy, the transmission of HIV, the history of its criminalization, and many other resources surrounding family planning/conception. Along with the resources, there is a video of HIVE patients and their experiences, discussing shame and stigma surrounding HIV and pregnancy. Organizations like HIVE have been key in filling the resource/research gap surrounding pregnant women living with HIV.

Resource 2:
HIV and Pregnancy

In this extensive resource, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists answers common questions about HIV. For example, it defines HIV and explains how HIV spreads. It also addresses living with HIV+ during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Additionally, this resource includes a glossary of important terms one should know surrounding pregnancy and HIV.

News Story:
Why Black women face barriers to accessing PrEP, an HIV-preventing drug

Black women face various barriers while trying to receive a prescription for PrEP (pre exposure prophylaxis), a highly effective drug for preventing sexual transmission of HIV.

Black women are among the most vulnerable groups in the ongoing HIV epidemic. A few key barriers to treatment include a lack of awareness about PrEP among both patients and medical providers, non-inclusive marketing that doesn’t portray Black women as potential users, insufficient treatment options tailored for women, and social stigma surrounding PrEP. These challenges are exacerbated in southern U.S. states where HIV transmission rates are the highest.

Ensuring access to affordable healthcare, reducing costs associated with PrEP treatment, and changing provider education and public health messaging are crucial to increasing PrEP uptake among Black women and curbing the HIV epidemic.

Scientific Publication:
Achieving Elimination of Perinatal HIV in the United States

This 2023 journal article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics focuses on the goals set by the CDC’s Framework for Elimination of Perinatal Transmission of HIV in the United States. The study used data from the National HIV Surveillance System and the National Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project to calculate rates of perinatal HIV transmission from 2010 to 2019. The number of live births to women with HIV decreased significantly between 2010 and 2019. Additionally, the number of infants acquiring HIV through their birth dropped by half between 2010 and 2019. These decreases were driven by a reduction in the HIC diagnoses rate for Black mothers (from 6.6 per 100,000 live births to 3.1 per 100,000 live births) but in 2019, Black mothers still had rates that were ten times higher than that of White mothers and four times higher than Hispanic mothers.

The article also speaks about the continuing efforts of coordinated health care and public health spheres to eliminate perinatal HIV fully. Some of these efforts include a more widespread use of HIV PrEP, especially among Black women. They also recommend that women with HIV should be treated to lower their viral load before they become pregnant.