Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV is the primary way that children become infected with HIV. More than 2000 children worldwide are infected in this way every day. Researchers theorized that disinfecting the vaginal area of HIV-infected pregnant women would make it less likely that their babies would be born with HIV. The primary objective of this review of clinical and randomised studies is to estimate the effect of vaginal disinfection during labour on the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection in HIV infected women. The secondary objectives are to determine the effect of vaginal disinfection on infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, and to describe its side effects to the mother and the new baby.
The authors of this review found that currently, there is no evidence of an effect of vaginal disinfection on the risk of MTCT of HIV. Given its simplicity and low cost, there is need for a large well-designed and well-conducted randomised controlled trial to assess the additive effect of vaginal disinfection on the risk of MTCT of HIV in pregnant, HIV-infected women, who are on antiretroviral therapy.