Preparing for Birth and Beyond: Postpartum Checklists for Parents Living with HIV

☐  Are you 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 you 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

Understanding how your body works to move your baby out into the world can help the birthing process feel more manageable – and even empowering. The questions and resources below can help guide conversations with your provider.

☐  What happens to people's bodies during labor and birth? 

More about this:

Preparing for Labor and Delivery (video from "Overdue," a doula-guided pregnancy and postpartum resource for Black moms-to-be, by mater mea)

The Essence of Coping in Labor (from PSfromPenny - a collection of practical, empowering videos from renowned birth professional and childbirth educator Penny Simkin)

Evidence-Based Birth (collection of video courses, blogs, and other birth preparation resources)

☐  How does my baby stay HIV-negative during birth?

• Will my HIV status affect my birth plan or experience?

More about this:

Pregnancy, Birth, and HIV (fact sheet from The Well Project)

Pregnancy and HIV: A Girl Like Me LIVE (livestreamed video chat from The Well Project)

☐  Does my clinic/hospital/birth center offer free classes to prepare for labor and birth, and/or caring for a newborn?

• Do they offer tours of the department where I will be giving birth?

☐  Who can I have with me during labor and birth?

Ask your provider:

• Are there limitations to how many people can be in the room where I am giving birth?
• Is there information (including but not limited to my HIV status) that may be shared in my hospital room that I am not comfortable with some people knowing?

Ask yourself:

• Which people (partner, mom, auntie, friend, doula) will help me feel most safe, supported, and powerful?

Who Should Be on Your Birth Team? (video from "Overdue," a doula-guided pregnancy and postpartum resource for Black moms-to-be, by mater mea)

☐  What is a doula? Is it a good idea for me to have one?

☐  How would I find a doula who is a good fit for me?

☐  Are there any free or low-cost community doula programs available in my area?

More about this:

Birth and Postpartum Support and HIV (video expert conversation from The Well Project, featuring The Afiya Center)

How Doulas Help People With HIV Navigate Pregnancy and Beyond (article from TheBody)

☐  How are my birth preferences/birth plan documented and communicated to the delivering team?

Ask yourself:

• What are my wishes for my labor, birth, and right after?

More about this:

Sample Birth Plan Template (resource from ACOG - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

Beyond Delivery: How a Birth Plan Can Prepare You for All Four Trimesters (audio and transcript from Life Kit, a National Public Radio podcast)

Birth Plans for Black Moms (video from "Overdue," a doula-guided pregnancy and postpartum resource for Black moms-to-be, by mater mea)

☐  I am interested in exploring my choices around infant feeding. How will my decision be supported and communicated to the rest of the care team?

Ask yourself:

• How do I want to feed my baby?

More about this:

Overview of Infant Feeding Options for Parents Living with HIV (fact sheet from The Well Project)

Resources to Talk to Your Provider about Breastfeeding and HIV (discussion guide from The Well Project)

Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding and HIV: Supporting Informed Choices (resource collection from The Well Project)

A solid network of supportive people can work wonders for your healing after birth and adjustment to life with your baby. Think about which family members, friends, neighbors, peers, and others you might be able to lean on and ask for different kinds of help – whether in person, on the phone, or virtual.

Considerations for your network may include:

• Who lives nearby and likes to cook?
• Who can drive and is available at odd hours?
• Who has said they want to help out?
  • Are they someone you feel good being around?
  • Are they someone you may want some boundaries with? If so, can they have a role other than coming into your house?

You deserve to have all the care and support you need!

☐  What will I need to feel safe and comfortable recovering at home with the new baby?

• Comfortable clothes
• Postpartum recovery items (ice packs, disposable underwear or pads for bleeding, witch hazel to relieve inflammation, etc.)
• Infant care, feeding, and diapering supplies
• If you give birth in a hospital or birthing center, be sure to take home as many of the supplies available there (sanitary pads, perineal rinse bottles, disposable bed pads, diapers, and more) as you can. Those supplies are there for new parents like you!

More about this:

 37 Postpartum Essentials for Every New and Expecting Family (resource from The Mother Baby Center)

☐  Forming a support "circle" – who can I rely on to support me with:

• Bringing or making nourishing food
• Being a good listener when I need it
• Holding baby when I need a break
• Helping with chores around the house
• Helping me stay consistent with taking my medications and giving baby medications
• Their own wisdom about birth/babies
• Rides to appointments
• Finding or providing child care
• HIV-knowledgeable infant-feeding support

More about this:

5 Reasons Why You Need a Postpartum Support Network (article from ACOG - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

☐  Can I connect with other new parents living with HIV (and those who care for them)?

• Email to join the BEEEBAH Resource Group on Facebook for supportive community, encouragement, potential referrals: BEEEBAH@thewellproject.org
  • Read more about the group from a past facilitator
• Ask a case manager about peer programs

☐  What if I need to switch providers?

More about this:

How to Fire Your Doctor (article from TheBody)

9 Steps for a Smooth Switch to a New HIV Provider Without Treatment Interruptions (slide show from TheBody)

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).

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

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

More about this:

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.

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)

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)?

Get more information on:

Reproductive Options

Infant Feeding and HIV

Mental Health

Sexual Health and Pleasure