The answer is yes, a mother who is HIV positive can breastfeed her baby. In fact she should exclusively breastfeed her baby for the first 6 completed months. Evidence has shown that exclusive breastfeeding reduces child deaths in the first year of life in infants exposed to HIV compared to mixed feeding and other forms of feeding. Thereafter, appropriate soft foods should be introduced while continuing breastfeeding until the child is 12 months old. When a nutritionally adequate and safe diet without breast milk cannot be provided, the mother should continue breastfeeding even after 12 months.
