US-PUBLIC-HEALTH-SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS COUNSELING AND VOLUNTARY TESTING FOR PREGNANT-WOMEN (REPRINTED FROM MMWR, VOL 44, 1995)

These recommendations were developed by the U.S. Public Health Service to address the increasing epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (H IV) infection among women and their infants. The recommendations stres s the importance of early diagnosis of HIV infection for the health of both women and their infants and are based on advances made in HIV-re lated treatment and prevention. The most significant advance for this population has been the results from a placebo-controlled, clinical tr ial that indicated that administration of zidovudine to HIV-infected p regnant women and their newborns reduced the risk for perinatal transm ission of HIV by approximately two-thirds.(1) This document recommends routine HIV counseling and voluntary testing for all pregnant women a nd is intended to serve as guidance for health-care providers in educa ting women about the importance of knowing their HIV infection status. For uninfected women, such HIV counseling and testing programs can pr ovide information that can reduce their risk for acquiring HIV; for wo men who have HIV infection, these programs can enable them to receive appropriate and timely medical interventions for their own health and for reducing the risk for perinatal (i.e., mother to infant) and other modes of HIV transmission. These programs also can facilitate appropr iate follow-up care and services for HIV-infected women, their infants , and other family members.