For people who are or want to become parents

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Last updated July 2026

For people living with HIV, there are several ways to become a parent. You or a partner can become pregnant through sex or assisted reproduction, or you can have a child through adoption or a surrogacy arrangement abroad. However, in some cases, HIV can be an obstacle.

Posithiva Gruppen runs the 3P – Positive Pregnancy Peers project, which offers peer support to people who are currently pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant. The support is provided by people living with HIV who have been pregnant and given birth themselves. Read more about 3P.

On this page you will find information about:

Pregnancy through sex
Assisted reproduction
During pregnancy
During childbirth
After childbirth
Breastfeeding and infant formula
Surrogates
International adoption
Information for the preschool/school

Pregnancy through sex

People with well-adjusted HIV treatment can now have the condom requirement formally waived by their HIV doctor, meaning that there are no barriers to having children through sexual intercourse when one or both partners live with HIV. Even when condoms for sex were required for all people living with HIV, many heterosexual couples were advised to have unprotected sex to get pregnant.

Assisted reproduction

Assisted reproduction includes insemination and IVF (in vitro fertilisation).

For many years, IVF clinics and hospitals in Sweden have denied assisted reproduction to women living with HIV (see, for example, the Public Health Agency of Sweden’s survey from 2018). On 1 October 2024, the National Board of Health and Welfare’s regulations and general advice on assisted reproduction were updated. The regulations clarified that HIV is not a barrier to treatment, and that assisted reproduction can be performed if measures are taken to “minimise the risk of [HIV] being transmitted to the child through conception or during pregnancy and childbirth”. The general guidelines also stipulate that a person should have a medical certificate stating that the HIV treatment is well-adjusted prior to assessment and treatment. The updated regulations mean that both private and public clinics should be able to offer assisted reproduction to people living with HIV. If you are living with HIV and are denied fertility testing or assisted reproduction after 1 October 2024, you can contact us at info@posithivagruppen.se.

Since 2018, a research study on assisted reproduction for people living with HIV has been conducted by Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge. Read more about the study on Karolinska’s website.

During pregnancy

All pregnant people attend regular check-ups during pregnancy. The routines for whether or not to go to specialist maternity care when living with HIV vary among different regions in Sweden. If you live in the Stockholm region, then you go to the specialist maternity care at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, while if you live in another part of the country, in most cases, you will go for check-ups at the “regular” maternity care/midwife clinic. During pregnancy, extra samples are taken at your infection clinic.

Many insurance companies have special rules for insuring a child born to a parent living with HIV, even if the child does not have HIV. To avoid leaving the newborn child uninsured, in some cases, it may be easier to take out pregnancy insurance (an insurance policy that is valid during pregnancy). Feel free to ask your midwife or Posithiva Gruppen about this. Posithiva Gruppen has compiled a list of the terms and conditions of pregnancy and child insurance policies offered by different insurance companies. Please contact us to receive access to the compilation.

During childbirth

If your treatment is well-adjusted, then a vaginal delivery is recommended. If you have more than 150 viral copies per millilitre of blood, then a caesarean section is recommended. The Reference Group for Antiviral Therapy (RAV) has developed guidelines for treatment and care during pregnancy and childbirth when living with HIV. Read the guidelines (PDF) (in Swedish). See Section 2.6 of the Guidelines for more information about childbirth routines.

After childbirth

Babies born to people living with HIV should receive a prophylaxis immediately after birth. The prophylaxis treatment continues for 2–4 weeks. Pregnant persons can collect the prophylactic treatment from a pharmacy before the birth. The child is followed-up regularly to check that they have not contracted HIV. Testing for HIV RNA is done at zero to three days after birth, at six weeks of age and at approximately four months of age. When the child is around two years old, an antibody test is done.

It is a good idea to take out child insurance. Posithiva Gruppen has compiled a list of the terms and conditions for child insurance policies offered by different insurance companies. Please contact us to receive access to the compilation.

Breastfeeding and infant formula

In Sweden, people living with HIV are discouraged from breastfeeding their children. However, people who are well-treated and who “choose to breastfeed despite advice and careful information” should be offered support and follow-up to ensure that the breastfeeding is carried out as safely as possible. This is in accordance with RAV’s recommendation Prophylaxis and treatment of HIV infection in pregnancy, 2024 (PDF). (The recommendation uses the word “woman” for people who breastfeed.)

According to the recommendation, support and follow-up should consist of an “information session on feeding” and “follow-up on breastfeeding”. The recommendation also states that the information session should include a review of knowledge about the risk of transmission via breastfeeding, information about the recommendation to refrain from breastfeeding, and a discussion about the reasons for wanting to breastfeed. The follow-up on breastfeeding involves the monthly testing of mother and baby while breastfeeding is being performed and for two months after the cessation of breastfeeding. Once breastfeeding is no longer being performed, the woman is transferred to the regular follow-up programme.

The recommendation also lists a number of criteria that must be met in order to receive support and follow-up. Among other things, the woman’s viral load should be below 50 copies/ml for as long as possible, the baby should be born at full term and the woman should have a good history of adherence. The woman must also be willing to attend the monthly follow-up visits where tests will be taken. RAV also recommends that women who choose to breastfeed (and who fulfil the criteria) should breastfeed for as short a time as possible (“with the aim of weaning by 6 months of age, at the latest”), should breastfeed exclusively and should stop breastfeeding in the event of breast infection (mastitis) or if the baby develops gastrointestinal symptoms.

Read Posithiva Gruppen’s information on HIV and breastfeeding (in Swedish).

In spring 2021, Posithiva Gruppen’s Knowledge Network for Women Living with HIV conducted a national survey regarding access to infant formula, information about breastfeeding and donated breastmilk in Sweden’s 21 regions. At the time of the survey, 3 of the 21 regions offered financial compensation or provided infant formula to mothers with HIV and their babies. For Stockholm and Gotland, it was reported that the infant formula itself was distributed, whilst Uppsala offered financial compensation for the infant formula. Since the survey was conducted, Umeå has also begun to distribute infant formula.

No region offered donated breastmilk to babies of mothers with HIV. Most regions responded that donated breastmilk can only be offered to premature and critically ill babies.

Surrogates

It is not illegal to have a child through surrogacy, but the process is legally insecure since Sweden lacks legislation on the matter. The person who gives birth to the child will automatically be considered a parent. In addition, it is not possible to obtain assisted reproduction for surrogacy at clinics in Sweden. This applies to everyone regardless of their HIV status. However, there are several Swedish companies that offer surrogacy arrangements abroad. Many of these are aimed at people living with HIV. Some of the companies may require those wishing to become parents to undergo and/or pay for certain tests or procedures such as sperm washing (as communicated with companies in 2021).

International adoption

The family court in the municipality where you live is responsible for giving consent to people who want to become adoptive parents. As part of the adoption process, a so-called suitability assessment is carried out which includes various aspects defined by the Swedish Social Services Act. One such aspect is the health status, but neither the law nor the preparatory legal work specifies the specific diseases that should be taken into account. Thus, living with HIV is not regulated in Swedish law in terms of eligibility to adopt. However, in international adoption, some partner countries may not accept adoptive parents living with HIV, even if consent has been obtained from the municipality.

If you have specific questions about adoption, then you can contact the Family Law and Parental Support Authority.

Information for the preschool/school

Parents or guardians are not obliged to inform the head teacher or other staff at the preschool or school about their child’s HIV status. If you think it is beneficial for the child to have someone at school or preschool know that the child is living with HIV, then you can choose to inform them.