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.
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
My OB/GYN or Midwife
☐ Are they familiar with the latest HIV care and treatment guidelines for pregnant people, including support for infant-feeding decision-making?
More about this:
Recommendations for the Use of Antiretroviral Drugs During Pregnancy and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States (expert panel guidance, published and updated by the US Department of Health and Human Services as of June 2025)
☐ Do they know about the National Perinatal HIV Hotline (1-888-448-8765)?
- A federally funded service that provides free clinical consultation on difficult cases to providers who are providing HIV care during pregnancy and for newborns after pregnancy
☐ Can they help connect me with a postpartum doula or community health worker?
☐ I would like to know my appointment schedule in advance
☐ 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
- Prevention for my partner(s)
- Preventing other STIs for me
- Future family building or contraception
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
More about this:
Mental and Behavioral Health, Women, and HIV (fact sheet from The Well Project)
ACOG Explains: Mental Health and Pregnancy (video from ACOG - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
If you have thoughts of ending your life, help is available! Call 988, the Crisis Lifeline, for emotional support.
Baby's Pediatrician
☐ Do they 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?
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?
☐ 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)?
