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Abstract
About 80% of HIV-positive pregnant women in our unit have a seronegative spouse. The prevalence, pattern and determinants of spousal disclosure of HIV serostatus was evaluated among 166 HIV-positive pregnant women receiving antiretroviral treatment. Although 146 women (88%) disclosed their HIV serostatus, 20 women (12%) did not disclose their status to their spouse. Non-disclosure was significantly associated with nulliparous (p = 0.024) and unmarried women (p = 0.026). Fear, regarding spread of the information (57.8%), stigmatisation (53%) and deterioration in the relationship with the spouse (47%) were the three commonest reasons for non-disclosure. Disclosure of HIV-positive status remains a sensitive issue among infected pregnant women. Strategies to reduce the stigma associated with HIV infection, appropriate management of the information following disclosure of seropositive status by HIV-infected persons are necessary to encourage disclosure to sexual partners and ultimately prevent new HIV infections.
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Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.