If you’re a woman living with HIV/AIDS and you want to have a baby, we hope you know that HIV meds now reduce the risk of transmitting HIV during pregnancy and childbirth to less than 2 percent. But you might worry about whether the meds you take to suppress HIV—and prevent transmission—could cause your infant to develop birth defects.

How can you and your doctor know which drugs are safe? Since 1989, the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry (apregistry.com) has tracked instances of birth defects potentially caused by HIV drugs. The best news: No significant increase in birth defects has been seen in the more than 11,000 cases included in the registry. For complete lessons on positive pregnancy and childbirth, click on the new “Women & Children” icon under “Quick Links” at the left of the
AIDSmeds.com home page.