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HIV in Pregnant Women

Pregnant women – woman in white

HIV infection in pregnant women is an important public health concern. Antenatal screening for HIV should routinely be offered to all pregnant women, as early diagnosis and management is important both to prevent transmission to the child and for the mothers health. Data collected from antenatal screening monitoring and prevalence surveys inform UK policy on interventions and improvements in the care of pregnant women, in addition to contributing to the understanding of the HIV epidemic in the general population.

 

Latest reports

HIV data for pregnant women

Key findings

  • In 2011, one in 452 women giving birth in England was HIV-infected. This was an increase from 2002 when around one in every 648 women giving birth were HIV-infected. However, over the last five years prevalence has been stable (between 0.21% to 0.23%).
  • Whilst London remains the area with the highest prevalence of HIV among pregnant women, the proportion has continued to decline with a decrease of 17% over the previous five years from 0.42% in 2007 to 0.35% in 2011. In contrast, HIV prevalence in pregnant women living outside London has increased by 10% between 2007 and 2011.
  • Although an increase in HIV prevalence in UK-born women giving birth has been observed over the last ten years, prevalence in the last 5 years has remained stable; between 0.04% and 0.05%.
  • Among sub-Saharan African born pregnant women, those living outside London have a significantly higher HIV prevalence (3.2%) compared to those living inside London (1.8%). Over the past ten years, prevalence in this group has remained relatively high but stable ranging from 2.3% to 2.9%.

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