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Maine CDC Health Advisory
June 13, 2024
Prevention of Perinatal HIV in Maine
Maine CDC recently received notification of an infant with perinatally acquired HIV infection. The last infant in Maine with HIV infection attributed to perinatal transmission was born in 2019. Perinatal HIV infections are rare, with 21 cases of HIV attributed to perinatal transmission in the U.S. in 2021, the last year for which data are available. Perinatal HIV in the U.S. has fallen by more than 95% since the early 1990s. Perinatal HIV transmission occurs when HIV is passed from a pregnant person to their child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding/chestfeeding. Having an undetectable viral load in pregnancy, and throughout the duration of breastfeeding/chestfeeding, lowers the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV to <1%. Most pregnant people living with HIV can have vaginal deliveries: for people with a high viral load (>1,000 copies/mL) near the time of delivery, a scheduled cesarean delivery can reduce the risk of perinatal HIV transmission.
