Pre-natal care for HIV mumsBy John Varoli While Russia is witnessing a rapid rise in the number of HIV cases, there is some good news from the front. Since the St. Petersburg AIDS Prevention Center began its pre-natal program in 2002 about 450 HIV positive women seek help here every year, and the number of children to whom the disease is transmitted has held stable. The situation might be even better except for the fact that as many as 20 percent of infected mothers refuse treatment, even though it’s free. Those women who do take advantage of counseling and treatment often see positive results that are truly staggering. «If a mother comes to us in time and follows through with the treatment to the very end of her term, there's only a one to two percent chance that her child will be born HIV positive,» said Dr. Kurilskaya. If the patient forgoes treatment, however, the incidence of transmitting the virus to a child jumps to 20 percent. Treatment at the center is in line with World Health Organization guidelines, and has three stages. First, during pregnancy, the patient is given a cocktail of three anti-viral medicines. Second, treatment is administered during delivery. Finally, the new-born gets a dose of anti-viral medicine. «We motive the mothers so that they can better take care of themselves during pregnancy, and their children after birth,» said pediatrician, Yelena Yastrebova, who works with Dr. Kurilskaya. Motivating mothers is not an easy task. Most women contracted the virus through intra-venous drug use, while a smaller number were infected by drug-using partners. One of Dr. Kurilskaya's patients on this mild autumn day still hasn't brought her new-born in for a check-up. The list of her excuses seems to have no end. Dr. Kurilskaya is not impressed. «Her child is sick because she didn't bother to take her medicine when she was pregnant,» Dr. Kurilskaya said visibly upset. «If we’re going to help these children, both before birth and after, parental cooperation is vital, and in many of these cases it means helping them deal with their addictions and other problems.»
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