Babies born to HIV-infected women in Odessa region, Ukraine

A study of factors affecting the health of children born to HIV-infected women in the Odessa region has been carried out as part of the Project on the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV by the American International Health Alliance (AIHA). The study showed that apart from HIV infection itself, smoking and other forms of substance abuse by mothers, other infections transmittable both in-utero and at the time of labor and delivery, and high-risk pregnancy can dramatically influence fetal development. The study resulted in recommendations on ante- and postnatal management of this group of children in resource-constrained settings.