I was diagnosed with HIV while PREGNANT

Victoria Roscow feared it would cost her and her baby’s lives

- KATE MANSEY DAILY MAIL

When Victoria Roscow gave birth to a healthy son, she and her husband were overjoyed. On the face of it, they are just like any other happy family. But when Victoria, now 29, was nine weeks pregnant, a blood test carried out as part of routine prenatal care led to a shattering and utterly unexpected discovery. She was HIV positive. 

Astonishingly, her husband Brad, 30, remains negative. And their baby boy is also negative, thanks to antiretroviral drugs Victoria took during her pregnancy. For Victoria, a graduate who is now a digital marketing executive, her life changed in a heartbeat. ‘The first thought I had was,

 “I’m going to die,”’ she said. ‘I felt sure it was a death sentence. That I would either have to abort the pregnancy or that Harrison would be born HIV-positive as well. I thought it was just a dead end for both of us. I remember sobbing and sobbing.

‘We had just had the first scan of the pregnancy,’ she said. ‘We were having a baby and we were so excited. Everything looked good. But then a consultant pulled me aside into a separate room. She sat me down and said that they had identified my platelets were very low and the reason was that I have HIV. They asked if they could tell my husband and I said, “Yes, bring him in immediately. Tell him exactly what you’ve just told me.” The first thing he did was grab my hand and say, “I love you. We’re in this together.” But we were both completely shocked.’

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