Marriage?
Marriage with an HIV partner is indeed possible, and there are many happy couples who live with this condition in one or both partners. As mentioned above, it is important to fully understand infection control and to be compliant with treatment plans.
There have been many advances in HIV medicine in the past 20-plus years. Although the safest thing for everyone concerned is to always have protected sex, and perhaps the best or safest choice is to avoid pregnancy, sometimes an HIV infected woman becomes pregnant, and understandably, some couples where the man has HIV want to explore having children. The three-part video on this hub shows an HIV man and his wife who have dealt with the infection during their entire marriage and have had children together.
Consult your doctor!
Before jumping into parenthood, discuss your thoughts and desires with your doctor. He or she knows your partner's medical condition and can advise you of the options. Some options might not be appropriate for a given situation, so it's important to have your situation evaluated individually.
Pregnancy?
What if you want to have a baby someday? It's not out of the question for a couple dealing with HIV to have children; here are some things to know if you are in a relationship with someone who has HIV and you want to start a family.
When the woman has HIV: The risk to an unborn fetus is greatly reduced if an HIV infected woman is on proper antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. If an unplanned pregnancy occurs, consult with your doctor about the proper treatment and choices to protect the safety of the baby as well as the mother.
If your female partner has HIV and the two of you want to conceive, consult the doctor ahead of time about the status of her virus, the appropriateness of this choice and the option of using artificial insemination to impregnate her. The sperm can be harvested from the male partner (or a donor) and transferred to the woman with no risk to the male partner.
When the man has HIV: A process called sperm washing can be used to protect the woman who receives sperm from a male donor. The process separates sperm cells from the fluid it is carried in (semen) and the cells are tested for HIV before being implanted in the woman or used to fertilize an egg, which is later implanted. This process can be very expensive and is not widely available.
When both have HIV: There can be a risk (small, but still a risk) of the two partners somehow creating a new or different strain of HIV if they engage in unprotected sex. This would, of course, subject the fetus to the infection and current therapies may not be effective. It is not recommended for two partners with HIV to have frequent, unprotected sex.
What about AIDS?
Not all individuals who have HIV have AIDS. Your doctor (or your partner's doctor) can explain what happens when HIV transitions to the AIDS level. Generally, an HIV patient is considered to have AIDS when an opportunistic infection occurs (one that would normally not affect someone whose immune system is not compromised), or when the CD4 count (the cells that help fight infections) goes below 200. This article is not about AIDS and is not intended to provide medical information or a diagnosis.
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