HIV infection among young parturient women in Brazil: prevalence and associated risk factors

Our goal was to estimate prevalence of HIV among young women in labor. A national, probability-based, cross-sectional study was performed among pregnant women, aged 15–24 years, who were attending Brazilian public hospitals. The study included 2,071 of 2,400 women selected (86.3 % participation). Mean age was 20.2 years (SD = 2.7). HIV prevalence was 0.7 % (95 % CI, 0.4–1.1 %). Living in the North region of the country and having previous sexually transmitted infections were associated with HIV infection. Our survey of young pregnant women found higher prevalence than expected for women of all ages in Brazil (0.42 %), indicating that the epidemic persists among heterosexuals.