Family Planning Choices for Women With HIV

CONTENTS

Home (Key Points)

Supporting the Reproductive Decisions of Women With HIV

Box: Family Planning Is a Key Strategy to Reduce Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Box: When a Woman With HIV Decides About Pregnancy

Box: Helping Women Talk With Their Partners About Contraception and Safer Sex

Box: Information Communication Technology: Mobile Phones Keep Women With HIV in Contact With Care

Women With HIV Can Safely Use Most Contraceptive Methods

Box: Dual Protection Strategies Help Prevent Pregnancy and STIs

Women With HIV Need the Facts About Pregnancy

Box: What People With HIV Need to Know About Pregnancy and
Preventing Pregnancy

Bibliography

Credits

• INFO Report: “Women and HIV: Questions Answered”
• Web Tool: Assess Your Attitudes and Beliefs About People With HIV
• Box: What People With HIV Need to Know About Preventing Pregnancy

• Table 1: Comparing Contraceptive Methods for People with HIV
• Table 2: Drug Interactions: Combined Oral Contraceptives and Antiretroviral (ARV) Medications
• Web Box: Condoms at a Glance

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Table 2. Drug Interactions: Combined Oral Contraceptives and Antiretroviral (ARV) Medications

While there is some theoretical concern that ARVs might reduce the effectiveness of combined oral contraceptives (COCs), women taking ARVs can still generally use COCs. Providers can use the table below to guide counseling and prescribing. In general, if a woman using ARVs wants to use COCs, she can be given a formulation with at least 30µg of estrogen, counseled about the importance of taking COCs every day (without missing pills), and encouraged to use condoms consistently. Correct and consistent condom use would help to make up for any decrease in effectiveness of the oral contraceptives as well as help to protect an uninfected sexual partner (195).

*Estrogen levels only
Sources: Adapted from World Health Organization 2004 (248). Additional information from HIV InSite 2007 (90) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2006 (166)