All efforts should be made to involve the woman’s GP and health visitor. It may be necessary to involve some of the following: patient advocates, social workers, legal advocacy, clinical psychologists, Selleck NU7441 psychiatrists, counsellors, health advisors, Citizens Advice Bureau workers, interpreters, community midwives, clinical nurse specialists and health visitors [4]. In settings with relatively few HIV-positive pregnant women, it is still important to develop robust pathways of care with identified members of an MDT. Regular links, formal or informal, can also be established with a larger unit to provide advice and support as

necessary. Good communication is vital in view of the complexity of the issues involved. An early assessment of the social circumstances of a newly diagnosed HIV-positive woman is important. Patients who initially refuse interventions or default from follow-up need to be identified and actively followed-up. Support by trained peer-support workers is a valuable component of the management of HIV-positive pregnant women. Many newly diagnosed selleck screening library HIV-positive pregnant women are initially reluctant to engage with peer support; however, the great majority of women who do engage

with it find that it becomes one of the most highly valued of all the interventions that they undertake [5]. The importance of informing appropriate healthcare workers should be emphasized. This includes midwives, general practitioners, health visitors and paediatricians. The process of in-patient care should be explained clearly, so that the women can be helped

to inform ward staff explicitly about levels of disclosure to visitors. Depending on the setting, levels of disclosure of newly diagnosed pregnant women about their HIV status vary, and there are cultural factors that influence the patterns of self-disclosure to partners and other social network members [4, 6]. Disclosure should be encouraged in all cases but Myosin may be viewed as a process that may take some time [7, 8]. There are situations where a newly diagnosed HIV-positive woman refuses to disclose to a current sexual partner, or appears to want to delay disclosure indefinitely. This can give rise to very complex professional, ethical, moral and, potentially, legal situations. There is a conflict between the duty of confidentiality to the index patient and a duty to prevent harm to others. Breaking confidentiality to inform a sexual partner of the index patient’s positive HIV status is sanctioned as a ‘last resort’ by the WHO [9] and General Medical Council [10]. However, it is not to be taken lightly as it could have the negative impact of deterring others from testing because of the fear of forced disclosure and loss of trust by patients in the confidential doctor–patient relationship.