Is the blood of pregnant women routinely tested for HIV in Belgium and if so, since when has this been done?

Answer

There is a recommendation that all pregnant women should be screened for HIV, as well as several other infections. For HIV, the recommendation also applies that this must be stated explicitly or that permission must be requested.

More and more experts find the latter unnecessary because it is better to “normalize” HIV testing. After all, there is a great advantage to testing: prevention of transmission to the child and also the preservation of good health for the mother.

It is extremely important that all pregnant women are tested, but it remains a decision of the gynecologist to request this. It therefore does not happen automatically.