Pregnancy increases the risk of HIV transmission--for both men and women

It is well known that pregnant women are more likely than others to contract HIV during intercourse with an HIV-positive partner. Surprising new results, however, show that men are twice as likely to contract the virus when they have intercourse with a pregnant HIV-positive woman. The increased risk remains even after researchers accounted for behavioral and other factors that increase HIV risk, researchers reported Monday at a Pittsburgh conference on the use of microbicides to block HIV transmission.