Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is a virus that destroys the immune system of a person. This virus is highly contagious and can be transmitted in many ways including: vaginal, oral, and anal sex, sharing needles, coming into contact with infected bodily fluids, and also through pregnancy, which is known as mother to child transmission. In the United States, there are about 1.1 million people with HIV and every year there are 540,000 new infections. It is important to note that of those new infections, 25% of them are in women.
When a woman becomes pregnant, her unborn child will take from her body the required nutrients and blood that the child needs to develop properly. If the woman is infected with HIV, there are possibilities that the child could receive the virus as well. This mother-to-child transmission could happen in one of three ways: during pregnancy, during childbirth, or through breastfeeding. When a woman is pregnancy, the child is connected to his mother via her placenta. If virus were to find its way into the child’s placenta, it could then enter and infect the child. Another way, and also the most common route of transmission from mother to child, is during childbirth. When the amniotic sac breaks, the child is in now exposed and in more direct contact to the mother’s blood and bodily fluids which can then infect the child. For this reason, most healthcare providers suggest that a woman receive a cesarean section to avoid such predicaments and lessen the chances of transmission. The third way that a woman can pass her HIV to her child can be through her breast milk. The child could have been born without HIV but if his mother feeds him her infected milk, then the child could contract the virus. This i...
... middle of paper ...
...ble and that is keeping herself as healthy as possible. Taking special precautions and of oneself can higher the chances of delivering a healthy and HIV-free baby into the world.
References
AIDS info, 10/1/2013, HIV and women, 2013.
American pregnancy association, 2014, HIV/AIDS during pregnancy, 2014.
BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board, February 2013, HIV/AIDS during pregnancy, 2013.
Baronceilli, S., et al. (2011). Pregnancy outcomes in women with advanced HIV infection in
Italy. AIDS patient care,25(11), 639-645. doi: 10.1089/apc.2011.0172
Jones, D., L., Peltzer, K., Villar-Loubet, O., Shikwane, E., Cook, R., Vamos, S., & Weiss, S., M.
(2013). Reducing the risk of HIV infection during pregnancy among South African women: A randomized controlled trial. AIDS Care, 25(6), 702-709. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2013.772280
Stanley, J., Gannon, J., Gabuat, J., Hartranft, S., Adams, N., Mayes, C., Shouse, G. M.,
Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system transmitted between people by the mixing of bodily fluids. It is an extremely deadly disease that has killed over thirty-six mi...
Cox-Foster, D. L., Conlan, S., Holmes, E. C., Palacios, G., Evans, J. D., Moran, N. A.,…
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada HIV – the Human Immunodeficiency Virus - is a virus that attacks the immune system, resulting in a chronic, progressive illness that leaves people vulnerable to opportunistic infections and cancers. (Canada 2008) Essentially over time, when your body can no longer battle the virus it progresses into a disease know as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. The transmition of HIV occurs when a person’s contaminated body fluids enter another individual. Unprotected sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal or oral), sharing needles, using unsterilized equipment for body modification, mother to infant transmition, as well as occupational exposure in health care are all ways HIV can be spread. HIV/AIDS as an illness is relatively new. The first reported case of AIDS in the world was in 1981, and a year later in Canada. Scientists all around the world are busy searching for a cure or vaccine to treat the millions of people internationally dying of HIV/AIDS.
Zhang, Y. B., Harwood, J., Williams, A., Ylänne-McEwen, V., Wadleigh, P. M., & Thimm, C.
Spink, Gemma. "AIDS." AVERTing HIV and AIDS. 23 Dec 2009. Web. 11 Jan 2010. .
Ottenberg, A. L., Wu, J. T., Poland, G. A., Jacobson, R. M., Koenig , B. A., & Tilburt, J. C.
Zulueta, P de (2000). The ethics of anonymised HIV testing of pregnant women: a reappraisal . Journal of Medical Ethics, 26, 16-21.
Kobau, R., Zack, M. M., Manderscheid, R., Palpant, R. G., Morales, D. S., Luncheon, C., et al.
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus; this virus can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. According to Avert, 2.6 million people became infected with HIV in 2009, there are now an estimated 33.3 million people around the world who are living with HIV. HIV is transmitted by the exchange of bodily fluids via sharing contaminated syringes, from the infected mother to the child, and sexual contact. Contact with blood, semen, vaginal secretions, breast milk, or saliva that is contaminated with HIV, puts an individual at higher risk for contracting HIV. However, HIV cannot be transmitted by touch, coughing, or by bits from insect vectors.
Ornstein, R., Rosen, D., Mammel, K., Callahan, S., Forman, S., Jay, M., Fisher, M., Rome, E., &
During the 1980s, efforts increased to alert the public to the dangers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancy, yet these problems have increased. Adolescents and young adults have been especially hard hit. Pregnancy and birth rates among teenagers are at their highest levels in two decades.
A person who is HIV-infected carries the virus in certain body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. The virus can be transmitted only if such HIV-infected fluids enter the bloodstream of another person. This kind of direct entry can occur (1) through the linings of the vagina, rectum, mouth, and the opening at the tip of the penis; (2) through intravenous injection with a syringe; or (3) through a break in the skin, such as a cut or sore. Usually, HIV is transmitted through:
Duley, S. M., Cancelli, A. A., Kratochwill, T. R., Bergan, J. R., & Meredith, K. E. (1983).
Stoto, Michael A., Donna A. Almario, and Marie C. McCormick. Reducing the Odds: Preventing Perinatal Transmission of HIV in the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 1999. Print.