Rationales for treating the human immunodeficiency virus-infected woman during pregnancy.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has become one of the leading causes of mortality among American women of childbearing age. Many women will experience a pregnancy after they have been infected. Several rationales exist for offering the pregnant infected woman anti-HIV therapy, including interruption of vertical transmission and improvement of her own health and the outcome of her pregnancy. The bases for these rationales are explored, the options (chemotherapy and immunotherapy) are described, and the potential toxicities are examined.