Supporting pregnant women through HIV

To ensure and protect good health so that we can fulfill our potential in life, all of us need guidance, understanding and practical help in making wise choices to care for and strengthen our bodies every day.?

People who are HIV-positive have an even more particular need for such advice and assistance - and if they are also pregnant women, these services are highly important.? The expectant mother is sharing her body with her baby, in which the little one feeds, sleeps, grows and feels; if her physical and emotional systems are weakened by the HI Virus, these need to be supported in order to fight off illnesses.

Scientists at the University of KwaZulu-Natal?s Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine and the SA Medical Research Council have studied the kind of information, health behaviour and support systems needed by HIV-positive pregnant women. ?They have found that using condoms, taking vitamins regularly, eating well and belonging to a support group are very important for mothers-to-be who are living with HIV.?

The researchers found that of the women they studied (many of whom were aged between 15 and 20 years), those who attended support groups, such as those offered at clinics, were more likely to make these healthy decisions and follow through with them, through sharing of knowledge and experience by fellow group members.

The study shows that most women find out about their HIV status only once they are already pregnant, and that many women who are ill are not always tested for HIV.?

This is a sign that the available Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services are not being used by all the clients who need them.?
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Women need to know what their HIV status is before falling pregnant, so that they can make careful choices about their own lives and their baby?s future.? Finding out that one is HIV-positive is stressful, and for the wellbeing of the mother and the growing baby, it is better not to experience this unease during pregnancy.? However, testing during pregnancy is vital in order to ensure that both mother and child can receive the best possible treatment and care.

[Information on this study was kindly provided by Prof. L. R Uys, Dr. B Gaede, Dr. M. J. Titus, Dr. E. S. Froelicher, S.J. Majeke, J.R. Naidoo and R.R. Marie Modeste.? Their 2006 study is entitled The influence of pregnancy on the progression of HIV/AIDS in HIV-positive women in South Africa]

Another study ? done during 2005 in the Rakai district of Uganda - has shown that the risk of becoming infected with HIV is doubled in pregnant women.? For this reason, pregnant women who are HIV-negative should be supported by counsellors, family members and friends in using condoms, so that they can protect themselves and their babies from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.? ?
[Reported by GENDER-AIDS ([email protected]) ? 6 October 2005]

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