Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba and her husband. Picture: Instagram/@noziqamngana
Yes I Have HIV presenter Nozibele ‘Nozi’ Qamngana-Mayaba, and her husband have welcomed their first baby.
The couple is popular for their YouTube channel, which has over 200K subscribers. Nozi is also an HIV awareness activist, and she recently bagged a TV presenting gig on a show titled, Yes I Have HIV, on Honey TV.
Announcing her baby’s arrival on Instagram, she thanked her supporters for their prayers and well wishes.
“Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Our baby boy has arrived,” she wrote.
A few days ago, Nozi penned a lengthy Instagram post and opened up about her “HIV and pregnant” story. She usually holds open conversations about her HIV journey on her social media platforms and in real life to shed light on the virus.
She said she was diagnosed with HIV in 2013, when she was 22 years old and started treatment in 2017.
“9 months after my diagnosis, I fell pregnant. Against the doctor’s advice, we continue to have unprotected sex. I terminated the pregnancy. My CD4 count and viral load were fine. I didn’t have to start treatment immediately.”
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Nozi shared that her husband is HIV-negative. She added: “We are what is referred to as a discordant couple. For the first few years of our dating life, we used condoms while I was on ARVs.
“We stopped using condoms to try and have a baby. My husband started using PREP (preexposure prophylaxis). This is used by people that HIV negative and want to remain so. I fell pregnant in late 2022.”
She said after three months into her pregnancy, she found out that the ARVs she had been using for six years were no longer effective.
“My doctor changed me to TLD, a generic HIV combination. A new drug that has been proven to reduce viral load and increase CD4 count quicker. My son will be given a syrup called Nevaraphine for six weeks.
“This is used as part of newborn antiretroviral regimens to prevent perinatal transmission of HIV from mom to child. I can breastfeed (with a suppressed viral load). However, it is advised against to mix feed. Giving the baby other foods, especially solid foods, may irritate your baby’s tummy and increase the risk of HIV infection.
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