Problem Statement Women represent an increasing proportion of the HIV epidemic in the United States. Background Primary prevention of HIV infection in infants must include prevention of the disease in all women of childbearing age and their potential sex partners. Women who are not infected cannot transmit HIV to their children. HIV-infected women and their partners need a full spectrum of information and services to prevent HIV transmission to children.
Mandatory testing implies universal testing without education, counseling, or informed consent.
Women should be offered HIV-testing prior to or early in pregnancy so that they can make decisions regarding their own health as well as decisions about reproduction. Women who test positive for HIV infection need to be informed of the full range of options related to personal health care including pregnancy. HIV-infected women need assistance to clearly assess their personal situations and to come to informed decisions. All health care and reproductive options should be available to women regardless of HIV status. Mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women, either by unblinding seroprevalence surveys without maternal consent or through other uninformed mechanisms will have a negative effect on public health professional s abilities to reach at-risk women.