Perinatal transmission in Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection: a cross-sectional study from a tertiary care center in North India.

Perinatal transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is an important mode of transmission in developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of perinatal transmission of HIV infection in pregnant women living with HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). A cross-sectional study was conducted in which HIV positive females who were pregnant at any time between April 2015 and July 2017 were interviewed and their case records analyzed. The collected data were entered and analyzed using Stata v11. Results were expressed as numbers and percentages for categorical variables and as mean and standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables. In all, 51 women were included in the study, 41 of whom had little knowledge concerning the transmission mode of HIV and its prevention. A total of 28 of these females were diagnosed with HIV during their pregnancy (First trimester -4, second trimester -18 and third trimester -6). A total of four babies delivered by these women were diagnosed with HIV. All the four babies were delivered by mothers who were diagnosed with HIV in or after the second trimester of the pregnancy. There is a need to create awareness amongst pregnant women about the importance of antenatal checkups.