CLINICAL PRACTICE ARTICLE

Pregnancy Outcome among HIV Positive Women Receiving

Antenatal HAART Versus Untreated Maternal HIV Infection
Onakewhor Joseph, Olagbuji Biodun and Ezeanochie Michael

ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate adverse pregnancy outcome in HIV infected women who received highly active antiretroviral
therapy (HAART) from early pregnancy compared with untreated-maternal HIV infection.
Study Design: A cohort study.
Place and Duration of Study: Antenatal clinic, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, from January 2008 to June
2009.
Methodology: Two hundred and forty nine HIV infected women who had intrapartum care constituted the study
population. Unbooked HIV positive pregnant women, who had not received antiretroviral drugs during the antenatal period
but received nevirapine in labour, referred to as untreated-maternal HIV infection, were compared with women who
received HAART early in pregnancy. Outcome measures of interest were obstetric complications and perinatal outcome
proportion.
Results: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (20.5% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.003), pre-term birth (25.0% vs. 9.8%, p = 0.005)
and caesarean delivery (45.5% vs. 29.8%, p = 0.04) were significantly higher among women with untreated-HIV infection
in pregnancy compared with women who received HAART from early pregnancy. Untreated maternal HIV-infection was
associated with higher frequency of birth weight less than 2500g, 5-minutes Apgar score less than 7 and admission into
neonatal unit (p < 0.05). Women with primary education were significantly higher in the group with untreated maternal HIV
infection (27.3% vs. 12.7%, p = 0.003).
Conclusion: Untreated maternal HIV-infection in pregnancy may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcome. HIV
positive women with low level of education utilise PMTCT services suboptimally. This information is important for
programmes designed to increase access to PMTCT services including HAART from early pregnancy.

Key words: HIV. Pregnancy. Antiretroviral prophylaxis. Labour. HAART therapy.

INTRODUCTION started early in pregnancy has been recognised to be

HIV/AIDS infection is an important cause of maternal more efficacious with associated improvement in infant
and perinatal morbidity/mortality in sub Saharan survival.11 There is an evidence that the risk of HIV
transmission from mother to child is associated with late
Africa.1,2 Anaemia, pre-term labour, intrauterine growth
initiation of therapy during pregnancy.12 This scientific
restriction (IUGR), foetal deaths, still births and low birth
evidence provided the basis for the new recommen-
weight are some of the complications associated
dation by the World Health Organisation for earlier and
with HIV in pregnancy.3-6 There is now a consensus
more efficacious antiretroviral prophylaxis options using
that HIV positive pregnant women should receive
HAART to reduce the risk of HIV transmission and
appropriate antiretroviral regimen to reduce the burden
improve infant survival.13
of the infection. Use of highly active antiretroviral
therapy (HAART) from early pregnancy, short course Widespread utilisation of HAART for prophylaxis in
combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in late pregnancy may be hindered by certain factors in Nigeria
pregnancy and single dose nevirapine in labour are and other under-resourced countries such as limited
among the ART regimen available for HIV positive resources and logistics for sustainability. Importantly,
women during pregnancy.7-9 other barriers may be client related such as non-
utilisation of antenatal care services or the presence of
Although the single dose nevirapine in labour is the most informal/alternative care providers in an environment
widely implemented ART regimen,10 HAART when where there is widespread poverty and ignorance.
These may limit the success of universal antenatal HIV
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin testing of all pregnant women since routine antenatal
Teaching Hospital, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria.
HIV testing is essential to a successful prevention of
Correspondence: Dr. Olagbuji Biodun, Department of maternal-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme.
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin Teaching PMTCT services were offered to the women according
Hospital, PMB 1111, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria. to the 2005 Nigerian National Guidelines on PMTCT as
E-mail: nelsonabiodun@yahoo.com published by the FMOH with the use antiretroviral
Received August 18, 2010; accepted April 27, 2011. drugs for HIV positive women with HAART (Zidovudine,

356 Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2011, Vol. 21 (6): 356-359
Pregnancy outcome in HIV infected women

Lamivudine and Nevirapine) as a first line regimen, woman delivering at UBTH. The data were coded by the
while HIV positive women diagnosed in labour were doctors on duty at each delivery and subsequently
offered single dose nevirapine. The PMTCT programme presented at the daily departmental clinical meetings
consists of routine HIV testing and counselling (with where they were vetted by the consultants before
provision to opt-out), post-test counselling and storage in the database to ensure the completion of
administration of antiretroviral drugs. Also, modified reporting.
intrapartum care, infant feeding options, treatment of Outcomes of interest included; the social and demo-
opportunistic infections and administration of anti- graphic characteristics of the women, antenatal
retroviral therapy to the baby soon after birth are carried complications of pregnancy, labour and the foetal
out as published in the guideline.7 outcome.
The data from this study will provide relevant information Data analysis was conducted using the statistical
for programme management in an environment where package for social sciences version 15, (SPSS,
HAART is infrequently used for PMTCT. Chicago, IL, USA). The differences in proportion were
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the evaluated using chi-square test for categorical variables
pregnancy outcome among women with untreated-HIV and the t-test for continuous variables. Statistical
infection who had single dose nevirapine in labour and significance was set at p-value < 0.05.
those who received HAART early in pregnancy for
PMTCT. RESULTS
Of the 249 women in the study population, 44 women
METHODOLOGY (17.7%) had antenatally untreated-HIV infection, while
It was a cohort study. The prenatal and delivery records 205 women (82.3%) received HAART from early
of 249 HIV positive women attending antenatal clinic at pregnancy. Significantly higher number of women
the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), with untreated-HIV infection had primary education
Nigeria, were reviewed between January 2008 to June compared to the women who were on HAART (27.3%
2009. The hospital is a referral centre that offers care for vs. 12.7%, p=0.003) (Table I). There was no significant
HIV infected persons including comprehensive PMTCT difference between both groups with regards to age
services in a programme funded by the Nigerian Federal groups, mean parity and mean gestational age at
Ministry of Health (FMoH) and Institute of Human delivery.
Virology, Nigeria (IHVN). Approval for this study, Table I: Clinical characteristics of the women.
regarding ethical issues related to human subjects, was Variable HAART Nevirapine p-value
given by the Research and Ethics Committee of the (n=205) (%) (n=44) (%)
hospital. Women with HIV infection in pregnancy who Age (years)
received HAART from early pregnancy for antiretroviral < 35 25 (12.2) 6 (13.6) 0.793
treatment or prophylaxis were compared with untreated- 35 180 (87.8) 38 (86.4)
maternal HIV-infected women. Women who did not Parity (meanSD) 1.82.3 1.21.5 0.09
receive antiretroviral therapy during the antenatal period Level of Education
or HIV positive women diagnosed in labour constituted None 0 (0) 0 (0)
the group referred to as untreated-maternal HIV Primary 26 (12.7) 12 (27.3) 0.003
infection. Secondary 110 (53.7) 27 (61.4)
Tertiary 69 (33.7) 5 (11.4)
Patients with AIDS, chronic medical disorders predating Gestational age at delivery 38.12.4 37.82.8 0.475
pregnancy, multiple gestation and short duration of (meanSD)
HAART (commencement in the third trimester) were
excluded from the study. The antenatal obstetric complications and mode of
During the study period, women with untreated HIV- delivery between both groups are compared in Table II.
infection referred in labour from peripheral hospitals Intra-uterine foetal growth restriction (20.5% vs. 6.3%,
following a diagnosis of HIV infection were re- p=0.003), pre-term birth (25.0% vs. 9.8%, p=0.005) and
counselled, rescreened and women diagnosed HIV- caesarean delivery (45.5% vs. 29.8%, p=0.04) were
positive received single dose nevirapine for PMTCT. significantly higher among the women with untreated-
They were compared with HIV positive women who had HIV infection (p < 0.05). The occurrence of premature
antenatal care in our centre and received HAART rupture of membranes (PROM) and anaemia at
from early pregnancy (second trimester) following admission in labour were comparable between both
the diagnosis of HIV infection and delivered after 28 groups.
weeks of gestation. The data was obtained from a With regards to perinatal outcome (Table III) birth weight
comprehensive obstetric and perinatal hospital data- less than 2500 g (36.4% vs. 18.5%, p=0.009), 5-minute
base which contained detailed information on every Apgar score less than 7 (13.6% vs. 5.4%, p=0.048) and

Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2011, Vol. 21 (6): 356-359 357
Onakewhor Joseph, Olagbuji Biodun and Ezeanochie Michael

Table II: Antenatal obstetric complications and mode of delivery. restriction, pre-term birth and delivery by caesarean
Variable HAART Nevirapine p-value section among antenatally HIV- untreated women who
(n=205) (%) (n=44) (%) had single dose nevirapine in labour compared to
Intra-uterine foetal women who had HAART from early pregnancy. These
growth restriction 13 (6.3) 9 (20.5) 0.003
findings are similar to those seen in the previous study
by Habib et al. in which antenatally untreated HIV-
Pre-term premature
rupture of membranes 28 (13.7) 8 (18.2) 0.431
Pre-term birth 20 (9.8) 11 (25.0) 0.005 infected women had higher rates of adverse pregnancy
Anaemia in labour 61 (29.8) 19 (43.2) 0.084 outcomes than treated HIV-infected women who had
Delivery by caesarean antiretroviral therapy in pregnancy.14 The higher
section 61 (29.8) 20 (45.5) 0.04
incidence of pre-term births among antenatally
untreated HIV-infected women shows that HIV itself may
Table III: Perinatal outcome. be a risk factor for pre-term birth and not necessarily
Variable HAART Nevirapine p-value
antiretroviral therapy as the association of HIV and
(n=205) (%) (n=44) (%)
antiretroviral therapy with pre-term delivery remains
Stillbirth 4 (2.0) 2 (4.5) 0.309
unclear with conflicting findings from previous studies.15-19
Early neonatal death 1 (0.5) 0 (0) 0.642
5th minute Apgar score < 7 11 (5.4) 6 (13.6) 0.048 The findings show that women with untreated HIV
Birth weight < 2500 grams 38 (18.5) 16 (36.4) 0.009 infection had higher incidence of IUGR. The difference
Birth weight (meanSD) 2877 651 2721 679 0.155 in outcome of IUGR among the groups of women in this
Admission into the neonatal study affirms the current recommendations of World
unit 20 (9.8) 11 (25.0) 0.005
Health Organization regarding early initiation of
admission into the neonatal unit (25.0% vs. 9.8%, antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected women during
p=0.005) were significantly higher in women who had pregnancy as it may reduce the incidence of IUGR and
single dose nevirapine compared with those who decrease the perinatal and infant mortality associated
received antenatal HAART (p < 0.05). There was no with IUGR.20 The higher rate of caesarean section in
significant difference between both groups with respect women without early antenatal HAART is not
to the other indices of foetal outcome. unexpected as caesarean section is a recommended
delivery modality for women with untreated HIV-infection
DISCUSSION in pregnancy. This could also be explained by the
In this study about 20% of the study population were occurrence of IUGR and pre-term delivery in this study
untreated for maternal HIV-infection in pregnancy which are recognised risk factors for intrapartum foetal
(received single dose nevirapine in labour for PMTCT) distress and still births. These reasons may also be
compared to about 80% that received antenatal HAART responsible for the increase in admission into the
commencing early in pregnancy. About one fifth of the neonatal unit among the newborns of women with
study population, who might have benefited from antenatally untreated-HIV infection.
antenatal HAART in conformity with current best Although, the retrospective design is a limitation of this
practice to suppress the viral load below detectable study, it remains relevant as a prospective design would
levels in pregnancy, were unable to access it despite its hardly be ethical since it is now standard practice to offer
availability in our centre. A lower level of education and antiretroviral treatment to HIV positive women during
possibly lack of awareness of PMTCT services in the pregnancy to reduce the risks of mother to child
cohort with untreated-HIV infection compared to those transmission.
who had HAART early in pregnancy, could be reasons
These findings support the new WHO recommendation
for not accessing optimum PMTCT services including
for the use of HAART as the first line regimen for
HAART. This is similar to a previous study in Tanzania
antiretroviral prophylaxis in HIV-infected pregnant
which showed that low maternal education and rural
women as this is also associated with better pregnancy
residence were associated with unknown HIV status
outcome and improved infant survival. However, with
which was found to be a reason for single dose intra-
the recent effort to scale up the access to antiretroviral
partum nevirapine in this cohort study.14 This suggests prophylaxis using HAART from early pregnancy for
that provision of the capacity to safely administer PMTCT, client related factors and other socio-cultural
HAART in health facilities may not necessarily be the barriers may be impediment to the success of this
only determinant of HIV infected pregnant women programme in our environment. Therefore, this
accessing these services as social and cultural information is important for the incorporation of
determinants may also be contributory factors. strategies to overcome these barriers in addition to
The present findings demonstrated a significant increasing the capacity to safely administer HAART at
increase in the incidence of intra-uterine growth the peripheral centres.

358 Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2011, Vol. 21 (6): 356-359
Pregnancy outcome in HIV infected women

CONCLUSION PMTCT regimens? Lessons from Zambia. AIDS Care 2010;

22:166-9.
Improved obstetric and perinatal outcomes for HIV
10. Palumbo P, Lindsey JC, Hughes MD, Cotton MF, Bobat R,
Meyers T, et al. Antiretroviral treatment for children with
positive women are to be expected when HAART is
peripartum nevirapine exposure. N Engl J Med 2010; 363:1510-20.
initiated from early pregnancy for PMTCT compared to
administering single dose nevirapine in labour.
11. World Health Organisation. Towards universal accesss: scaling
Acknowledgement: The authors acknowledge the up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector: progress
contributions of FMOH and IHVN in PMTCT services for report 2007. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2007.
HIV-infected women at the study centre. 12. Giles M. HIV and pregnancy: screening and management
update. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 2009; 21:131-5.
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