Changing Trends in Pregnancy and Childbirth among Women Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus at a Tertiary Hospital in Korea: A 28-Year Experience

BACKGROUND: The reports about fertility desire and pregnancy outcome among women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Korea are scarce. This study aimed to determine the changing trend in pregnancy incidence among women infected with HIV in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of women infected with HIV visiting Pusan National University Hospital between January 1990 and October 2018. RESULTS: A total of 149 women with HIV infection visited the study hospital. Among them, 33 pregnancies in 24 (16.1%) women were identified. There were 17 live births (51.5%) and 13 abortions (39.4%), whereas 3 women (9.1%) were transferred to another hospital or were lost to follow-up. The number of live birth rose from 0 in 1990-1998 to 17 in 1999-2018. The proportion of repeated pregnancies after HIV diagnosis also increased steeply, from 14.3% in 1999-2008 to 50% in 2009-2018. However, the number of abortions also increased over time. There were 8 induced abortions, 7 (87.5%) of them were diagnosed with HIV infection during pregnancy and 3 (37.5%) were unplanned pregnancies. Eighteen babies, including 1 twin case, were born from 17 births. There was no mother-to-child HIV transmission in our study. CONCLUSION: The number of pregnancies among women with HIV infection and repeated pregnancies after HIV diagnosis has been increasing in Korea, probably due to the desire of HIV patients to have more children. However, the number of abortions also increased, probably due to health concerns and uncertain pregnancy outcome.