Pregnancy and the effects it produces on the health of HIV positive women

Abstract

Introduction: There are 35 million cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide, 15 million correspond to women of childbearing age. This pregnancy condition in seropositive women generates relevant effects that affect the psychosocial and physical condition. The changes generated by pregnancy in an HIV positive woman are related to adverse perinatal results such as postpartum hemorrhage, puerperal sepsis, premature delivery and mortality. Objective: To know the physical and psychosocial effects that pregnancy has on the evolution of women with HIV. Method: Narrative review. Content analysis of primary sources obtained through searches in the CINAHL, PubMed and SciELO databases is performed. The search was carried out within a 10-year range, in Spanish and English. For the present investigation 22 articles are included. The sections for the analysis were results and conclusions. Results: 318 articles were initially selected, 22 articles were eligible for inclusion. In this review, three dimensions of psychosocial analysis, pathophysiology and clinical characteristics, and pharmacological treatment are proposed. The literature shows the negative psychological effect in the study population, in terms of treatment there is a low percentage of adverse events compared to ART, so the benefits outweigh the risks. Conclusions: The three dimensions raised are related to each other, defining the effects of pregnancy in HIV positive women and what the condition entails on the mother's health. Various problems were identified that affect the health of an HIV-positive woman who becomes pregnant. However, these HIV positive women can become pregnant, following optimal treatment, with regular health care, thus avoiding most of the effects that can affect her health.