Highly active antiretroviral therapy and adverse birth outcomes among HIV-infected women in Botswana.

Background: It is unknown whether adverse birth outcomes are associated with maternal highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in pregnancy, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Methods: We abstracted obstetrical records at 6 sites in Botswana for 24 months. Outcomes included stillbirths (SBs), preterm delivery (PTD), small for gestational age (SGA), and neonatal death (NND).

High prevalence of hypertension and placental insufficiency, but no in utero HIV transmission, among women on HAART with stillbirths in Botswana.

Background: Increased stillbirth rates occur among HIV-infected women, but no studies have evaluated the pathological basis for this increase, or whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) influences the etiology of stillbirths. It is also unknown whether HIV infection of the fetus is associated with stillbirth.

Methods: HIV-infected women and a comparator group of HIV-uninfected women who delivered stillbirths were enrolled at the largest referral hospital in Botswana between January and November 2010.