- Amanda Mammadova was diagnosed with HIV in 2010 – three months after meeting her now husband Ali, 29
- The virus was passed on unknowingly by her ex-partner Â
- They married eight months later and decided they wanted to try for a baby
- 34-year-old said she tried to persuade her husband to opt for insemination
- But he wanted the couple to conceive naturally, despite the risk
- Mrs Mammadova’s viral load – the amount of HIV in her blood – is very low
- It means there is a very low risk of passing the virus through sex
- She doesn’t need anti-viral medication yet, but has regular check-ups
- She is pregnant with the couple’s second baby – who is due in June
- Their daughter Saabria is HIV negative as is Mr Mammadova
- At 20 weeks’ pregnant Mrs Mammadova will start to take anti-viral medication to help reduce the chance of passing the virus to her babyÂ
Lucy Osborne for the Daily Mail
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A mother with HIV is pregnant with her second baby since diagnosis – despite the risk of passing the virus to her child or husband.
Amanda Mammadova said ‘it wouldn’t be the end of the world’ if her baby is born with the illness, adding: ‘Having HIV wouldn’t affect my child’s life.’
The 34-year-old personal trainer was diagnosed with the virus in 2010 – just three months after meeting her husband, Turkish native Ali, 29. She contracted the virus from an ex-partner who unknowingly had the disease, and although she feared her new boyfriend would call off their relationship, he vowed to support her. They married eight months later.
Amanda Mammadova, who is HIV positive, is pregnant with her second child after she and her husband Ali chose to try and conceive naturally, having done so with their daughter Saabria
Mrs Mammadova, from Milton Keynes, already has a 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship but her husband agreed to risk getting HIV so they could have a baby together.
The couple naturally conceived their now 21-month-old daughter, Saabria, who was born HIV-free. Despite having unprotected sex, her husband did not contract the virus either.
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They decided to try for a second baby – and are now expecting their new arrival in June.
If an HIV-positive mother takes the appropriate anti-viral drugs during pregnancy and labour and does not breast-feed, the risk of transmitting the virus to her child is around 1 per cent.
Mrs Mammadova ‘s viral load – the amount of HIV in her blood – is low, meaning the risk of transmission during sex is low. The couple’s daughter Saabria was born HIV negative and Mr Mammadova has regular tests
Mr Mammadova is waiting for a test to establish if he has contracted the virus while the couple were trying for their second child, who is due in June
And for Mrs Mammadova, this risk is further reduced given that she is an ‘elite controller’ – meaning her immune system is ultra-effective at controlling the virus. Such patients are said to have a very low risk of passing on HIV to partners during sex or during pregnancy to an unborn child.
Both mother and baby will also be given a course of anti-HIV treatment upon birth, which will help reduce the risks of transmission. But Mrs Mammadova admitted that there is still a chance the virus could be passed on to her husband or child.
If either were to contract the virus, they would have virtually the same life-expectancy as someone without it – but they would have to spend the rest of their lives on daily medication, with regular GP check-ups.
If their immune system is badly compromised – through developing another illness, for example – it could develop into AIDS, the later stage of the illness, where life expectancy is on average three years.
Mrs Mammadova said that while she would rather her child was born without the virus, she added: ‘I wouldn’t be devastated if my child had HIV. It isn’t a death sentence any more. It wouldn’t hold them back and they would go on to achieve everything they wanted.
When Mrs Mammadova is 20 weeks’ pregnant she will begin to take anti-retroviral drugs to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to her unborn baby. The drugs reduce the risk to less than 0.5 per cent, experts say
Mrs Mammadova said she tried to persuade her husband to opt for insemination but he refused and was adamant he wanted them to conceive naturally like a normal couple despite the low risk of transmission
‘It hasn’t ruined my life – in fact, it has got better since my diagnosis. Having HIV isn’t the end of the world, it’s something that you live with. It doesn’t define who you are.’
Mrs Mammadova said her husband is tested for HIV every six months. ‘Ali has always supported me and is willing to get HIV in order for us to be a normal couple,’ she added.
‘He reassured me he wasn’t bothered whether he contracted HIV or not as I was his wife … he wanted us to conceive naturally.
‘I had always wanted a family but when I was first diagnosed I thought my chances had been destroyed.
‘I also have an older daughter and I was worried I wouldn’t see her grow up but doctors … gave me hope for the future.
‘I want other people to understand the importance of getting checked. Diagnosing HIV in the early stages saves lives.
‘I hope my story shows people that the disease doesn’t need to hold you back.’
Daisy Ellis, acting policy director at the Terrence Higgins Trust, an HIV awareness charity, said: ‘The strength of our antenatal screening programme means the UK has one of the lowest rates of mother-to-child HIV transmission in the world.
‘If a woman with HIV wants to start a family, the NHS will take every measure possible to stop the virus being passed on.’Â
National Aids TrustÂ
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