HIV Linked to Higher Pregnancy Rate in Teens and Young Women

Teens and young women who are HIV positive have a higher pregnancy rate than non-HIV teens and young women. They also have a much greater risk of complications for themselves and their unborn babies.

John Hopkins Study

In a study performed at John Hopkins, researchers analyzed the data of 181 HIV positive females ranging in age between 13 and 24. During a 12 year period they had all been hospitalized an average of four times. During those 12 years more a third of the teens and young women became pregnant, some of them more than one time for a total of 96 pregnancies from 181 women over the 12-year period.

The study also uncovered that women who had unprotected sex and used injected illegal drugs that resulting in the HIV where seven times more likely to become pregnant than the teens and young women who were born with HIV. The miscarriage rate was also much higher in the young women who got HIV through unprotected sex or IDU.

Conclusion

The researchers at John Hopkins found the findings to be disturbing. The study also showed that HIV positive teens and young women continue to have unprotected sex therefore infected other with the HIV virus.

Source: http://health.msn.com/pregnancy/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100269455