HIV-positive women in the United States gave birth to 8,700 infants in 2006, marking a 30 percent increase in the number of births from 2000, according to an article in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and reported by aidsmap. Surveillance data from 2005 puts the mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rate at 2.5 percent, well above the 1 percent expected rate based on appropriate treatment and care. Analysis shows that overall pregnancy rates did not change between 2001 and 2006 meaning HIV prevalence has gone up among women of childbearing age (15 to 44). The rise in the number of infants exposed to HIV emphasizes the growing need for MTCT prevention and educational services and access to care.

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