In 1996, the U.S. Preventine Services Task Force said there was not enough evidence to prove that screening all pregnant women was beneficial. But in Tuesday's Annals of Internal Medicine
Dr. Diana Petitti, the task force's vice chair, said she hopes the report will encourage women to think of HIV testing the same way they think of other tests during pregnancy.
According to the task force, pregnant women carrying HIV can be given combination drug therapies, have Caesarean sections or avoid breast-feeding to avoid spreading the virus, reducing the risk to as low as one percent.
Of the 4.7 million women hospitalized for pregnancy or childbirth in 2002, nearly 6,300 were HIV positive.
In 2001, a directive by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasized HIV testing as a routine part of prenatal care, recommending all pregnant women be tested for HIV.
Of the near 40,000 Americans infected with HIV each year, about 27 percent are women. Petitti said that many women do not know if their partners have had other sex partners.
The panel also reaffirmed its recommendation that adolescents and adults at increased risk for HIV be tested, broadening its definition of high-risk to include those getting care at homeless shelters or clinics specializing in the care of sexually transmitted diseases.
