Conception

Women usually get pregnant by having unprotected sex with a male partner. But this isn’t always the best way when one or both people have HIV. Talk about your options with your healthcare team if you’re thinking of having a baby.

If one partner is HIV-negative and one has HIV

If you have unprotected sex, there are two risks to be aware of:

• Passing on HIV to your partner.
• Sexually transmitted infections.

An untreated infection could have serious consequences for you and your baby, so both you and your partner should check that you don’t have any infections before having unprotected sex.

If both you and your partner have HIV

There are two risks associated with unprotected sex:

• Reinfection with a different strain of HIV, although this is rare.
• Sexually transmitted infections.

Getting pregnant

If you are an HIV-positive woman, and your partner is HIV-negative, you can use self-insemination to get pregnant. If you are an HIV-positive man, you could consider a technique called sperm-washing. You can use this process if your partner is HIV-positive or HIV-negative.

Some couples do have unprotected sex to get pregnant, usually only on those days when the woman is fertile. But this is not currently generally recommended. There is still a risk of transmission of HIV to the negative partner, or reinfection, even when someone is on effective treatment and their viral load  is undetectable.

If you are thinking about having unprotected sex, it’s very important that you and your partner discuss your options and the risks with your healthcare team before you make a decision to have unprotected sex.

There are other options, using other sorts of fertility treatment such as donor sperm. Talk to your healthcare team about these, and whether you might be able to get them on the NHS (this will vary across the UK).

Adoption might be another option. Having HIV does not automatically mean you can’t adopt, but your health and circumstances would be assessed before you could apply.