OBJECTIVES: to describe the use of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in HIV-positive Cuban pregnant women and the relationship between the type of mother antiretroviral treatment used during pregnancy and perinatal transmission. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was carried out in 319 children from seropositive mothers, identifying in they HIV infections or not. The descriptive measures, the rate comparative test and the prevalence ratio were used for the analysis. RESULTS: the overall rate of mother-to-child transmission was 5% and this was higher in the years in which HAART were not used (9,5% vs 3,1%; p=0,049). Initially, only that women classified as AIDS received combinative therapy. As time passed, an increased use of HAART and a decreased rate of vertical transmission was observed (26,3% in 2003 vs 86,7% in 2008 and 10,5% in 2003 vs 2,1% in 2008; respectively). The prevalence of the disease decreased with the use of a more active maternal treatment (lineal tendency p=0,017). CONCLUSIONS: the improvement of Cuban prevention protocol decreased HIV vertical transmission.
HIV infections; Pregnancy
