View the full resource Preparing for Birth and Beyond: Postpartum Checklists for Parents Living with HIV
Pregnancy and birth can have an impact on your physical, emotional, and sexual health. The provider who delivered your baby will check how your body is healing, but other care providers may also be important as you recover and adjust to new changes in your body and your life. These questions can help you focus on how different providers can best support your and your family's health (and you may want to ask some of these questions before you give birth).
Click the image to the right to save as a jpeg or share online; or download a printable pdf checklist as a reminder
These lists of (self-reported) HIV-affirming and knowledgeable providers, developed by The Well Project, may offer good places to start for referrals in your area:
List of US-Based Providers who Support Informed Infant Feeding Choices for Parents with HIV
List of HIV-Friendly Reproductive Services and Providers in the US
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More about this: My Postpartum Care Checklist (resource from ACOG - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) |
My OB/GYN or Midwife
☐ Can you help connect me with a postpartum doula, public health nurse, or community health worker?
☐ At about what points following birth will postpartum appointments happen?
☐ I would like help connecting (or reconnecting) with a primary care provider
☐ I would like to stay connected with sexual and reproductive healthcare to discuss:
- Experiencing sex, intimacy, and pleasure after giving birth
- HIV prevention for my partner(s)
- Preventing other STIs for me
- Future family building or contraception
☐ [If you had any complications during pregnancy or delivery] How does this pregnancy impact how I should think about my chronic health or future pregnancies?
☐ I am sad, depressed, anxious, or just not feeling like myself.
- I would like help connecting with a perinatal specialist mental health provider
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More about this: ACOG Explains: Mental Health and Pregnancy (video from ACOG - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) |
If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, help is available! Call 988, the Crisis Lifeline, for emotional support.
My HIV Care Provider
☐ I think that coordinating my care with a case manager would be helpful
☐ I need support with taking my HIV and other medications during this stressful time
☐ I am sad, depressed, anxious, or just not feeling like myself.
- I would like help connecting with an HIV-knowledgeable mental health provider
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More about this: Mental and Behavioral Health, Women, and HIV (fact sheet from The Well Project) |
Baby's Pediatrician
☐ Do you know about the National Perinatal HIV Hotline (1-888-448-8765)?
- Consultants can provide referrals to local or regional pediatric HIV specialists
☐ What is my baby's appointment schedule?
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More about this: AAP Schedule of Well-Child Care Visits (general guidance from HealthyChildren.org, provided by AAP – the American Academy of Pediatrics) |
☐ Is there anything I need to be concerned about when it comes to developmental milestones?
☐ Who is responsible for ordering and following up on my baby's HIV tests?
☐ I would like to learn techniques to help me give my baby their medications.
My Primary Care Provider
Ask yourself:
☐ How am I feeling? Are there any changes in my body that I am concerned about?
Ask your provider:
☐ Have there been any changes in my lab results outside of HIV? What do they mean?
☐ Is there anything I need to be thinking about as far as whole-body health during a stressful year?
☐ I want to talk about my lifetime chance of chronic health conditions
☐ Am I due for any health screenings (bone health, diabetes, etc.)?
View the full resource Preparing for Birth and Beyond: Postpartum Checklists for Parents Living with HIV
More on:
Reproductive Options
Infant Feeding and HIV
Mental Health
Sexual Health and Pleasure
Special thanks to Lealah Pollock, MD, MS, of the University of California – San Francisco, for her review of the 2025 first edition of this resource.
