The US Preventive Services Task Force is recommending screening for HIV infection for all pregnant women, including those at low risk (http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspshivi.htm).
The recommendation comes following evidence that current tests accurately identify pregnant women who are HIV-positive and treatment strategies (including combination drug therapies, elective cesarean delivery, and avoidance of breastfeeding) can reduce the chances that HIV will be transmitted to an infected mother’s infant.
Data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project indicate that, of approximately 4.7 million women who were hospitalized for pregnancy or childbirth in 2002, nearly 6300 were infected with HIV.
