[AIDS and the gynecologist-obstetrician].

After the first case of HIV infection in a pregnant woman in our hospital, we thought on the need to review the medical literature about HIV infection and pregnancy and bring up to date the knowledge of this topic to the obstetricians and neonatologists. HIV infection is caused by a retrovirus. It selectively infects helper/inducer lymphocytes after binding to a glycoprotein receptor on their surface, named CD4. This depletion is slow and gradual, and by time is characterized by the presence of opportunistic infections and some class of tumors. Homosexual men are by now the group most affected by this virus. In Mexico, until August 1988, there were reported 1,628. One hundred forty one of these were women that is 8.6%; that mean that we have a significant female fertile population with an increased risk of perinatal transmission of HIV. The risk calculated to be infected by the HIV for obstetricians and other health care workers is less than 0.5%. However they had to take some measures to avoid contamination with body fluids and blood during the performance of a cesarean section or during delivery. We review briefly the measures that had to be taken by the neonatologist and the obstetrician in the attention of a pregnant woman since the prenatal care until the postpartum period. Among the measures that are reviewed are the use of gloves, gown, mask, glasses and the precautions that had to be taken with the use of sharp instruments during the performance of surgery.