Pregnancy-Associated Deaths due to AIDS in the United States

From 1981 to 1988, eighty percent of all women with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) reported to the Centers for Disease Control were of reproductive age. Six pregnancy-associated deaths due to AIDS in this country have been reported in the medical literature. We identified 20 unpublished cases of women who died of AIDS during or within one year after termination of pregnancy. Analysis showed that these women were mostly black or Hispanic, half were intravenous drug abusers, and most died of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Each pregnancy had an obstetric complication, primarily preterm delivery. The interval between diagnosis of AIDS and the death of these women ranged from one day to 15 months, with a mean interval of 113 days. Multiple reporting sources increased case detection and should be used for future investigations. Prospective case-control studies are needed to determine any further relationship between pregnancy complications and AIDS.