She said she helps connect mothers with the resources they need to both carry a child and continue to treat their disease. For some, she said, this often means finding adequate housing, medical assistance, legal counsel and nutritional support. Others often need assistance with household duties, doctor visits, purchasing prescriptions and counseling services, she said. We look at each case individually and work to provide as much support as we can. Fry said mothers who are HIV-positive are referred to Catholic Charities once they find out they are pregnant.
Most referrals come from the Fort Worth health department, local hospitals and private physicians.
In the past, Fry said preventing HIV-transmission during pregnancies was not always easy. However, with new treatment regimens, more mothers are now able to prevent the transmission and live longer lives. Fry attributes much of the success to the use of protease inhibitors in new treatment plans. Although mother and child share the same blood during a pregnancy, the placenta is able to act as a strong barrier against transmission. Many are able to give natural births and live to watch their children grow up healthy and happy.