Jenny is pregnant and her friends are all excited to give her a baby shower, but you know something they don’t know. Jenny is HIV positive. What will be the best gift you can give her? And how can you give her a special gift without giving her secret away?
Treat Jenny like any other expectant mother. Only 25–30 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers will test positive for the disease. If she has a C-section, the odds are even better. If she has had good prenatal care, there is only about a 10 percent chance of being born HIV positive. In Trinidad and Tobago, women at a particular clinic were tested and treated for HIV early in their pregnancy, reducing the HIV positive birth rate to 7 percent. She is quite unlikely to have an HIV positive baby, so go ahead and get her that cute little outfit or toy you would buy for any other baby!
According to studies, as of 2010, an HIV positive mother who breastfeeds is more likely to pass on the infection to her newborn baby, so it is likely that your friend is planning to give her baby formula. In that case, a nice set of baby bottles and a bottle warmer is a good shower choice.
Some mothers are now signing up for a gift registry, like a wedding registry. You can’t go wrong if you choose a gift from the registry. These often offer the new mother a discount for the first year of baby’s life. If that’s the case, a prepaid credit card wrapped up with a small toy is a nice gift. The mother can go in later and choose the items that she still needs and get them at a discount. It’s always fun to have gift money to spend on a shopping spree.












