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HIV Testing and Pregnancy
Women who are planning on becoming pregnant or who are pregnant should be tested for HIV as soon as possible. The sooner a pregnant woman knows that she is HIV positive and gets into special prenatal care, the LOWER her baby's chance of being HIV infected. Women who have not been tested during pregnancy can be screened during labor and delivery with rapid tests which can produce results in less than one hour. This allows for treatment to protect the baby should the results be positive.
The State of Texas has established this schedule for HIV testing during pregnancy:
Test pregnant women at first prenatal clinic visit
Test pregnant women during the third trimester (recommended at 32 - 36 weeks gestation)
If a woman cones to the hospital in Labor and does not have a third trimester HIV result or had no HIV test during her pregnancy, she is to be tested via expedited test (results must be back within 6 hours). Rapid HIV test results can return results within 1 hour in most facilities.
If the mother was not tested, the baby is to be tested for HIV via expedited test
DSHS Requirements for Testing During Pregnancy
TCPHP Guidelines for Care of HIV+ Pregnant Women
TCPHP Recommendations for HIV Testing of Pregnant Women
HIV Testing in Pregnancy Toolkit
TRIAD* provides this toolkit for physicians, nurses, laboratory staff, social workers, hospital pharmacy staff and others caring for pregnant women and newborns. Information on testing schedules and state law is specific to Texas.
*(Texas Rapid testing Implementation At Delivery) is an initiative sponsored by Texas DSHS with funding from the CDC to advocate for rapid testing in Labor and Delivery for women with unknown HIV status.