Jim Shelton's Pearls

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February 10, 2004

Contraception to Prevent MTCT for Women on ART

Thanks for those compelling reasons to make effective contraception available to women receiving antiretrovirals. But what about mother-to-child transmission? Wouldn’t providing contraception also provide an opportunity to prevent it as well?

Yes. On the one hand, for women who become pregnant, triple-therapy ART if taken through delivery should prevent HIV transmission to the infant to a very high degree. However, such prevention of transmission may not be 100% effective, especially if the woman experiences virologic failure on the ART or for some reason discontinues it. Thus access to contraception should prevent some mother-to-child transmission.

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The "Pearls" offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. These "Pearls" are prepared by Dr. James D. Shelton, Senior Medical Scientist, Office of Population, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

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