South African media personality and HIV-Aids activist Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba has shared her personal story of living with HIV and falling pregnant.
The author discovered that she was HIV positive at the age of 22 during a wellness day event on 15 August 2013. Though coming to terms with her status was difficult, she did not allow her status to limit her from achieving what she wanted. Instead, she has pushed forward and has achieved so much.
She recently took to her social media platforms to share her inspiring story.
“HIV Positive & Pregnant: My Story
1. I found out about my positive HIV status August of 2013. I was 22.
2. 9 months after my diagnosis, I fell pregnant. Against the doctor’s advice, we continue to have unprotected sex. I terminated the pregnancy.
3. My CD4 count and viral load were fine. I didn’t have to start treatment immediately.
4. The HIV policies changed 2015/16. Despite CD4 and viral load levels, everyone was encouraged to start treatment. I started treatment in 2017.
5. No side effects to treatment.
6. My husband @sgmayaba is HIV negative. We are what is referred as a discordant couple. For the first few years of our dating life, we used condoms, while I was on ARVs.
7. ARVs helped me to get to the U=U stage. This means undetectable equals un-transmittable. ARVs help to minimise the amount of the virus inside the body to levels where you cannot infect another person.
8. We stopped using condoms to try and have a baby. My husband started using PREP (preexposure prophylaxis). This is used by people that HIV negative and want to remain so.
9. I fell pregnant late 2022.
10. 3 months into the pregnancy, we found that the ARVs I had been using for 6 years were no longer effective.
11. My doctor changed me to TLD, generic HIV combination. A new drug that has been proven to reduce viral load and increase CD4 count quicker.
Within 4 weeks, my numbers went back to normal.
12. I’ve only been taking my ARVs and the prescribed “normal” pregnancy vitamins.
13. My son will be given a syrup called Nevaraphine for 6 weeks. This is used as part of newborn antiretroviral regimens to prevent perinatal transmission of HIV from mom to child.
14. He’ll be tested between birth to 14 days; 1 to 2 months of age and; 3 to 6 months of age.
15. I can breastfeed (with a suppressed viral load). However, it is advised against to mix feed. Giving the baby other foods, especially solid foods, may irritate your baby’s tummy and increase the risk of HIV infection.
16. I am presented with both birth options. In general, you can plan for a vaginal delivery if the risk of transmission of HIV is low and there are no other reasons to need a caesarean delivery,” she shared.
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