What if …
Q.64 What infant feeding practice and ARVs should be recommended to a mother if she arrives with her infant after a home delivery?
When an HIV-infected mother arrives at a health facility after a home delivery, the health staff should assess her need for ART. As part of the process of assessment, her current feeding method and a plan for future feeding in the light of ARVs should be discussed.
If the mother is breastfeeding or plans to breastfeed, the infant should be immediately started on daily NVP for at least 6 weeks. If the national recommendation is to support Option A , then daily nevirapine should continue until one week after the end of all breastfeeding. If Option B is recommended nationally, then the mother should be started on ARVs according to national protocols, and the infant should also receive daily NVP for 6 weeks. If the mother plans to provide formula feeds, then the infant should be given daily either AZT or NVP for 6 weeks according to national recommendations.