Recommendations for the Use of Antiretroviral Drugs During Pregnancy and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States, Heath and Human Services (2023)

These updates to the Infant Feeding for Individuals with HIV in the United States section in the Perinatal HIV Clinical Guidelines, issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provide information for healthcare providers to engage with women and other birthing parents living with HIV about decisions related to pregnancy and infant feeding. 

They reflect the evidence-based understanding that when mothers are virally suppressed, the rate of HIV transmission through breastfeeding is less than 1 percent. Guidance in the US is now consistent with guidelines in many parts of the world that have long supported breast/chestfeeding among women living with HIV who are taking effective HIV treatment.

Specifically, the updates to the section, Infant Feeding for Individuals with HIV in the United States, assert the need for shared decision-making between providers and parents living with HIV and increased support from providers for parents' infant-feeding choices. Revisions to the guidelines were made by a panel of experts in perinatal HIV treatment, care, and prevention who were convened as a working group of the US National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council.

Summary courtesy of The Well Project.