| Summary: | Context: An estimated 430,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2008, over 90% of them through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). Without intervention, the risk of MTCT ranges from 20% to 45% as per the World Health Organization (WHO). Aim: To find the uptake of Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PPTCT) services during pregnancy. Setting and Design: Cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: Ethical approval and informed consent was taken. Uptake of PPTCT services by the mother was obtained in 222 pregnancies. This was compared with the HIV status of children born to them. Statistical Analysis Used: Percentages. Results: In 25.7% pregnancies, the mothers were tested for HIV. One child was born was to a mother who had tested HIV negative in pregnancy. In 50% of the mother-child pairs, both mother and child received PPTCT. Where both the mother and child received PPTCT, only 13.3% children born were HIV positive as against 40% children who were HIV positive where neither mother nor the child had received PPTCT. Conclusion: Uptake of PPTCT services was low. In countries like India where the chances of parent to child transmission of HIV are likely to be more than in developed countries due to breastfeeding practices, the uptake of PPTCT services should be maximized to decrease the burden of pediatric HIV because even a single pediatric HIV infection counts. All the pregnant women need to be voluntarily tested twice for HIV in pregnancy, in which the second test for HIV may be in late pregnancy.
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