All pregnant women should be screened for HIV infection when they book for antenatal care. HIV-positive women must have their CD4 count measured and be offered HIV prophylaxis before delivery. Usually AZT 300 mg orally twice daily is given from 28 weeks gestation followed by a 300 mg oral dose 3-hourly during labour. In addition, oral Nevirapine 200 mg should be given to the mother at the onset of labour. After delivery the infant should be given both:

• AZT syrup 12 mg (1.2 ml) twice daily for 7 days, or 4 mg/kg (0.4 ml/kg) if the birth weight is less than 2 kg
• Nevirapine syrup within 72 hours of delivery as a single dose of 6 mg (0.6 ml), or 2 mg/kg (0.2 ml/kg) if birth weight is less than 2 kg

HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment) with 3 antiretroviral drugs should be given to HIV-infected pregnant women with a CD4 count below 200 cells/μL. This will reduce the risk of HIV transmission to the fetus if it is started before 28 weeks.