ses originating from one cause. The main agent causing AIDS is a retrovirus known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV is the agent of a sexually transmitted disease that can also be contracted through blood transfusions or IV drug use; the disease can also be passed on to a fetus during pregnancy. When people are infected with HIV, they are not necessarily also infected with AIDS. A person is not infected with AIDS until HIV reduces immune function to a certain level or when one or more serious illnesses related to HIV occurs. (4)
             Everyone is at risk of contracting the HIV virus, although women with HIV/AIDS face more difficulties living with this disease than do men. HIV/AIDS women are of special interest because they are the major source of infection of infants. Not only do they have to think about the effects on their own lives, but also they must think about their infants if they choose to conceive. In my paper, I will review the ways in which HIV/AIDS affects women differently than men, through clinical issues and gynecological manifestations. I will also discuss the virus itself and issues concerning HIV positive women who are planning to conceive.
             In early 1983, a team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France led by Dr. Luc Montagnier first announced the discovery of HIV (5). They originally named it LAV, or lymphadenopathy-associated virus. However, it was not until the American team, led by Dr. Robert Gallo, called the virus HTLV-3 or human T-cell lymphotrophic virus that both teams collaborated and simplified it to just HIV (5).
             HIV can cause a range of conditions, of which AIDS is the worst. For example, it can lead to persistent swelling of the lymph nodes (5). Other people may have more serious symptoms but still show no sign of AIDS. This condition is known as AIDS related-complex ( ARC) (5). Some of the symptoms of ARC include swollen glands, severe or chronic diarrhea, severe fatigue, ra...