But for infected women giving birth to HIV positive babies it can be the most devastating experience without counselling.

According to health officials, the number of such cases has been very small in Bermuda since testing for all pregnant women began in 1988.

From 1988 to the end of December last year, a cumulative total of 4,487 women were HIV tested and 12 positive HIV tests recorded in ante natal women which equates to a rate of 2.67 per 1,000 births.

For the first quarter of this year, 268 women were tested for HIV and none were positive.

Health Visitor Miss Valerie Cheape said there were about eight cases of HIV-infected mothers who gave birth to children who initially tested positive but were now negative.

She said a few mothers chose to abort the pregnancy.

But both Miss Cheape and nurse epidemiologist Ms Rhonda Daniels said most infected mothers, after much counselling, chose to have their babies and get on with their lives.

Ms Daniels said infected pregnant women were referred to the clinic where abortion is not advocated because there is a 30 percent chance that the baby can be born HIV negative.

Or, Ms Daniels said, the baby can be born positive and later test negative or can be born positive and remain positive, depending on the way the mother has been infected, the amount of times she has been exposed to the virus, and the amount of the virus entering her system every time she is exposed.

"The theory is that a woman who is already HIV positive and has been HIV positive for a while has low lying levels of the virus in her system,'' she explained. "So there's not that large amount of the virus that she can pass onto the baby. Chances are that the baby will be born positive and convert to negative or be born negative and remain that way.

"They used to test the baby directly after birth. But they found there was no use in doing that because they were actually testing the mother's antibodies to the virus.

"Whatever antibodies we have we pass on to the baby because the baby's system is not fully developed yet.

"So now they will probably test the child three months after birth, then test them again anywhere between six to nine months, then test them again at 18 months.'' Ms Daniels said the majority of the mothers who had been infected locally had contracted the virus through sexual transmission. Infected mothers, like anyone tested for the AIDS virus, go through thorough consultation.

"We always advocate that people be counselled before this is done,'' Ms Daniels said. "We discuss what the test means, psychological issues, social aspects, and prenatal issues for men and women.'' The counselling also includes the matter of confidentiality.

And Ms Daniels said while an infected person must tell his or her sexual partner, dentist, and doctor and anyone else they choose for support, they do not have to disclose their condition to their employer or working colleagues.

Those infected are referred, with their consent, to support groups such as STAR or Addiction Services.

Infected mothers are allowed to take care of their children as long as they are physically capable, she said. But they are also advised to decide on a legal guardian before they can no longer care for their child.

Ms Daniels said the interaction between an HIV-infected mother and her baby was basically the same as any other mother/child relationship. But they were discouraged from breast feeding.

"Mothers in general with HIV I find more or less get on with their lives,'' she said. "A lot of them are single parents so they don't have the time to sit around and feel sorry for themselves and mope about what's happened to them. They just pick up with their lives.'' There are four known children with the AIDS virus in the public school system, she said.

Ms Daniels said their physical and mental state is monitored closely by the school nurse, who also monitors children who are not infected but have parents who are HIV-infected.

Other than the school nurse, and sometimes the counsellor, principals are the only members of staff told of the child's condition because they are legally responsible for the school.

While teachers are not told, they have all been informed to treat every child -- in cases of administering first aid -- as if they are HIV positive. A support group for children whose parents have AIDS is also in the works, Miss Daniels said.

While health workers do not go into the schools to specifically speak about AIDS, Miss Cheape said they give basic bereavement talks in schools on request.

Infected parents are also encouraged to talk to their children about their condition before they learn about it by another source.

"We're trying to encourage parents in general now to talk about AIDS with their kids,'' Miss Daniels said.