<prompt> Antenatal maternal HIV diagnosis is of impoance in -To prevent veical transmissionTo terminateTo dischargeTo isolate the patient  <response>: Ans. is a To prevent veical transmission . HIV infected mother can transmit the virus to fetusinfant during pregnancy, during delivery or by breast feeding. . Early diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy to mother and infant significantly decrease the rate of intrapaum and perinatal transmission Veical transmission of HIV infection. . Zidovudine treatment of HIV infected pregnant women from the beginning of the second trimester through delivery and of infant for 6 weeks following bih decreases the rate of transmission from 22.6 to 5 . Single dose of nevirapine given to the mother at the onset of labor followed by a single dose to the newborn within 72 hours of bih decreased transmission by 50. This is the prefered regimen now in developing countries. 