If I'm pregnant and have HIV, will my baby have HIV too?

Most babies born to HIV-infected women escape the virus, but 1 in 4 do become infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding, although no one is certain when viral transmission occurs. Transmission may also be linked to the mother's health during the pregnancy or birth. There are more viruses during the earliest stages of AIDS than later, for example. Currently, physicians may prescribe drug Retrovir (AZT) for infected pregnant women to reduce rates of transmission; effectiveness of this therapy increases the earlier HIV is diagnosed during the course of infection or before or after pregnancy.