Rate, correlates and outcomes of repeat pregnancy in HIV-infected women

HIV Med. 2017 Jul;18(6):440-443. doi: 10.1111/hiv.12473. Epub 2016 Dec 21.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the rate, determinants, and outcomes of repeat pregnancies in women with HIV infection.

Methods: Data from a national study of pregnant women with HIV infection were used. Main outcomes were preterm delivery, low birth weight, CD4 cell count and HIV plasma viral load.

Results: The rate of repeat pregnancy among 3007 women was 16.2%. Women with a repeat pregnancy were on average younger than those with a single pregnancy (median age 30 vs. 33 years, respectively), more recently diagnosed with HIV infection (median time since diagnosis 25 vs. 51 months, respectively), and more frequently of foreign origin [odds ratio (OR) 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-1.68], diagnosed with HIV infection in the current pregnancy (OR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.35-2.11), and at their first pregnancy (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.06-1.66). In women with sequential pregnancies, compared with the first pregnancy, several outcomes showed a significant improvement in the second pregnancy, with a higher rate of antiretroviral treatment at conception (39.0 vs. 65.4%, respectively), better median maternal weight at the start of pregnancy (60 vs. 61 kg, respectively), a higher rate of end-of-pregnancy undetectable HIV RNA (60.7 vs. 71.6%, respectively), a higher median birth weight (2815 vs. 2885 g, respectively), lower rates of preterm delivery (23.0 vs. 17.7%, respectively) and of low birth weight (23.4 vs. 15.4%, respectively), and a higher median CD4 cell count (+47 cells/μL), with almost no clinical progression to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stage C (CDC-C) HIV disease (0.3%). The second pregnancy was significantly more likely to end in voluntary termination than the first pregnancy (11.4 vs. 6.1%, respectively).

Conclusions: Younger and foreign women were more likely to have a repeat pregnancy; in women with sequential pregnancies, the second pregnancy was characterized by a significant improvement in several outcomes, suggesting that women with HIV infection who desire multiple children may proceed safely and confidently with subsequent pregnancies.

Keywords: HIV; HIV RNA; birth weight; pregnancy; preterm delivery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-HIV Agents / therapeutic use
  • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
  • Emigrants and Immigrants
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / complications*
  • HIV Infections / drug therapy*
  • HIV Infections / immunology
  • HIV Infections / virology
  • HIV-1 / physiology
  • Humans
  • Infant, Low Birth Weight*
  • Pregnancy
  • Premature Birth / epidemiology*
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Anti-HIV Agents