Epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus infection in women in the United States.

From 1981 to 1989, the number of women with HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) increased rapidly. Most women were infected through intravenous drug use or sexual contact with an infected man. Most children were infected through mother-to-infant transmission during pregnancy or delivery. Available data suggest that the rapid increase in the number of women with AIDS will continue for at least the next few years.