Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: suggested protocol for counseling and screening in pregnancy.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recorded 35,900 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States, including 2447 infected females, as of May 25, 1987. These cases include 503 children under the age of 13, of whom 80% were thought to have been affected through perinatal transmission. The prevalence of AIDS-related complex and human immunodeficiency virus in the United States is far greater than these numbers. The CDC has recommended screening those pregnant women with risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus. With the help of a wide range of professionals, we have developed a screening protocol for human immunodeficiency virus in pregnancy. In the first six months, 3-4% of prenatal patients used this counseling service, and 11 human immunodeficiency virus-positive women delivered. This paper discusses the medical and ethical issues that were raised and the problems that we faced in establishing this protocol.