HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission, post-test counselling, and antiretroviral prophylaxis in Northern Viet Nam: a prospective observational study.

Background: Pregnant women fear being identified as HIV-1-infected and this has hampered prevention programmes and the calculation of transmission rates in Viet Nam. We introduced post-test counselling, antiretroviral prophylaxis, and formula feeding, and determined the vertical transmission rate in parts of Northern Viet Nam.

Methods: HIV infection was identified in 234 pregnant women; 182 (77.