Social media influence reveals fertility status after AIDS diagnosis

Influence on social networks Gene Tew in March, she announced that she is fighting AIDS, which is caused by untreated HIV. She has since documented her journey on her Instagram and TikTok, where she has amassed close to a million followers.

She recently took to her social media to answer questions about her fertility since revealing her diagnosis, as well as revealing that she’s not undiagnosed and that she’s getting healthier every day.

“So I haven’t had my period in over a year and I’ve actually been worrying about it myself,” she said in the video, before adding that her period had returned. “You can’t have a child if you don’t have your period. So, I got it! I’m not excited, but I’m excited to know that my body is getting a lot better.”

A fan commented that she can still have her period without being able to get pregnant, to which she replied: “Oh I know!! But I was pregnant twice before, but that [stopped] because of my illness.”

She also noted that her viral load was now at the point of being undetectable.

dr. Laura Guay, vice president of research at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, told Newsweek, “A woman living with HIV can give birth to a child without HIV. The most important thing she can do is to work with an HIV health care provider as soon as possible (ideally before she becomes pregnant) to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to her baby.”

Some preventive measures include taking effective HIV medication throughout pregnancy and after the baby is born to reduce the amount of virus in her blood, avoiding breastfeeding, and giving HIV medication to the child.

Tew continued to document her health online, including muscle atrophy and surgery to treat blindness in one eye.