Assessing long term backache after childbirth.pdf

and suggests that antenatal testing could prevent a significant proportion ofvertical infection. In a recent survey of all obstetric units in the British Isles, 51% were offering HIV tests only to women perceived as being at risk, 3% to all women, and the remainder had no formal policy.3 Our results show that in south east England, only 17% of live births to infected women are recognised before delivery. There is therefore considerable scope for improvement in antenatal HIV testing programmes. We thank the obstetricians, midwives, paediatricians, and other physicians who have participated in the reporting schemes, microbiologists reporting HIV seropositive children to CDSC and CD(S), and T Berry for her clerical help. This study is supported by the AIDS Education and Research Trust (AVERT). The unlinked anonymous testing programme is supported by the Medical Research Council. The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit is supported by the Medical Research Fund of Children Nationwide. 1 Hall SM, Glickman M. Report from the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit. Arch Dis Child 1990;65:807-9. 2 Davison CF, Ades AE, Hudson CN, Peckham CS. Antenatal testing for human immunodeficiency virus. Lancet 1989;ii: 1442-4. 3 Davison CF, Holland FJ, Newell ML, Hudson CN, Peckham CS. Screening for HIV infection in pregnancy. AIDS Care 1993;5: 135-40. 4 Public Health Laboratory Service AIDS Centre. AIDS and HIV-1 infection: United Kingdom. Communicable Disease Report 1993;3:20. 5 Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit. Monitoring the spread and impact of HIV infection in Scotland, 1982-1991. AIDS Scodand 1992;7: 1-1 1. 6 Communicable Diseases (Scotdand) Unit. ANSWER, Communicable Disease Scodand Weekly Report 1993:93/05. 7 National Study of HIV in Pregnancy. Quarterly Newsletter. Horsham: AIDS Education and Research Trust (AVERT), 1992:Issue 13. 8 Lynn R, Hall SM. The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit: activities and developments in 1990 and 1991. Communicable Disease Report 1992;2: R