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ABSTRACT
Healthcare experiences among women living with HIV/AIDS (WLHA), determine their utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services, which ultimately influences their decisions on childbearing. This study aimed to understand the importance of healthcare support in the childbearing decision-making processes of WLHA, and its impact on eliminating new paediatric HIV infections. We conducted in-depth interviews between July and August 2012 with 15 WLHA receiving clinical HIV care at a teaching hospital in Lagos. Using PEN-3 cultural model, as a guide we explored perceptions of healthcare support pre- and post-partum. Findings indicate that faith in God for the delivery of a healthy child is significant during the pre-partum period, while the advice of healthcare workers concerning childbearing and access to available healthcare services carry more weight post-partum. Our findings have important implications for HIV treatment and care programmes geared towards WLHA considering childbearing, and ultimately the UN Global plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, as we move towards the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the participants who contributed to this study and the staff of the haematology clinic, especially Chief Nursing Officer Sabiyi, Dr Dosunmu, and all the physicians for their support. In addition, we would like to thank Dr Diane Cooper and colleagues at the Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town for granting us permission to adapt their interview guide for this study. We would also like to thank Dr Okoror for reviewing drafts of this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
