Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Oct;26(10):1515-1524.
doi: 10.1111/hiv.70072. Epub 2025 Aug 25.

European Guidelines on HIV and breastfeeding: "Same, same, but different" - Results from a WAVE survey

Amy Keane  1 , Lila Haberl  2 , Inka Aho  3 , Stefania Bernardi  4 , Mariana Mărdărescu  5 , Anna Hermine Markowich  6 , Angelina Namiba  7 , Nneka Nwokolo  8 , Keren Olshtain-Pops  9 , Annette Haberl  10 ; WAVE (Women Against Viruses in Europe), European AIDS Clinical Society
Affiliations
Review

European Guidelines on HIV and breastfeeding: "Same, same, but different" - Results from a WAVE survey

Amy Keane et al. HIV Med. 2025 Oct.

Abstract

Introduction: A notable gap exists in research on HIV and breastfeeding in high-income settings with continuous access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and suppressed HIV viral loads. The Women Against Viruses in Europe (WAVE) initiative aimed to consolidate European guidelines on HIV and breastfeeding to better inform medical staff and people living with HIV in the decision-making process for breastfeeding.

Methods: Representatives from 23 countries were contacted by WAVE to submit their guidelines on HIV and breastfeeding, translated into English. The initial contact was made on 20 April 2023, and the final response was received on 26 May 2023. The WAVE breastfeeding group summarized the guidelines into key topics related to breastfeeding for the purpose of this manuscript.

Results: A total of 19 guidelines from 20 countries were included in the review. While the majority of countries recommend formula feeding as the preferred feeding for infants born to mothers living with HIV, most provide recommendations to support parents who choose to breastfeed if certain criteria are met.

Conclusion: Despite recommendations being based on the same research, there is variation across guidelines. This review consolidates European guidelines, enabling us to learn from each other and pool our experiences to create a robust cohort for further research and guideline development for parents living with HIV and their infants.

Keywords: Europe; HIV; breastfeeding; guidelines; recommendations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

IA (Inka Aho) received fees from Gilead, GSK, Merck and support for congress participation from Gilead. AH (Annette Haberl) received lecture fees from Gilead Sciences, MSD, and ViiV Healthcare and also support for congress participation from Gilead Sciences. LH (Lila Haberl) received lecture fees from ViiV. NN (Nneka Nwokolo) is a part‐time employee of ViiV Healthcare. AM (Anna Hermine Markowich), MM (Mariana Mărdărescu), AM (Angelina Namiba), AK (Amy Keane), SB (Stefania Bernardi), KOP (Keren Olshtain‐Pops): declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Breastfeeding guidelines received/not available. *Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK. **Germany and Austria share guidelines. ***Israel, Portugal, Finland. ****Romania.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Moseholm E, Weis N. Women living with HIV in high‐income settings and breastfeeding. J Intern Med. 2020;287(1):19‐31. - PubMed
    1. Jiménez de Ory S, González‐Tomé MI, Fortuny C, et al. New diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus infection in the Spanish pediatric HIV cohort (CoRISpe) from 2004 to 2013. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017;96(39):e7858. - PMC - PubMed
    1. NHS . Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Services. HIV Report 2022. GOV.UK2022. 2023.
    1. Consolidated guideline on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV. 2017. - PubMed
    1. Guideline: updates on HIV and infant feeding: the duration of breastfeeding, and support from health services to improve feeding practices among mothers living with HIV. 2016. - PubMed