The Safety and Effectiveness of Zidovudine in HIV-Infected Pregnant Women and Their Infants

To determine whether the rate of HIV transmission from mother to infant can be reduced by continuous oral zidovudine (AZT) treatment to HIV infected pregnant women, intravenous AZT during childbirth, and oral AZT treatment of the newborn infant from birth to six weeks of age. The study is also designed to evaluate the safety of AZT for both the pregnant woman and the newborn infant. No method exists to prevent transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her newborn infant. Giving an antiviral agent (such as AZT) to the mother and to the newborn could in theory decrease the risk of infection to the newborn by reducing the exposure of the fetus to maternal virus, or by preventive treatment of the fetus before exposure.