Introduction: The sexual and reproductive health of people living with HIV is fundamental for their well-being. Antiretroviral therapy and reproductive technologies have significantly improved quality of life of people living with HIV in developed countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, the epicenter of HIV, the sexual practices and fertility of women infected with HIV have been understudied.
Aim: To assess the sexual behavior, fertility intentions, and awareness of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in pregnant women with HIV-negative partners in Yaounde Central Hospital (Yaounde, Cameroon).
Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a semistructured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was conducted at the antenatal unit and HIV clinic in 2014.
Main Outcome Measures: Ninety-four pregnant women infected with HIV provided consistent information on (i) sociodemographic characteristics, (ii) sexual and fertility patterns, (iii) awareness of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and (iv) their unmet needs.
Results: Although sexual desire had significantly changed since their HIV diagnosis, the women were highly sexually active. Approximately 19% of women had more than one sexual partner and 40% had regular unprotected sex during the 12-month period before the interviews (P < .0001). Twenty-nine percent of women preferred intermittent sexual intercourse and inconsistent condom use to delay pregnancy, but the abortion rate remained high. Age, marital status, and education affected women's awareness of mother-to-child transmission (P < .05); and no association existed between the number of living children and future pregnancies (rs = -0.217; P = .036).
Conclusion: HIV-infected women living with HIV-negative partners in Cameroon expressed high sexual and fertility intentions with several unmet needs, including safer sexual practices and conception. Incorporating and supporting safe sexual educational practices and conception services in maternal care can decrease risky sexual behavior and vertical transmission.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esxm.2016.01.004 | DOI Listing |
BMC Infect Dis
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taixing People's Hospital, No.1, Changzheng Road, Taixing, Jiangsu, 225400, China.
Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization is one of the major causes of severe neonatal infections. The study was intended to identify GBS colonization in pregnant women, explore its potential risk factors, and analyze the impact of GBS on outcomes for both mothers and newborns.
Material And Methods: A retrospective research was carried out on pregnant women who had undergone GBS screening and delivered from June 2020 to December 2022.
WHO's 2013 PMTCT guidelines recommended lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), nevirapine prophylaxis (NVP) and early infant diagnosis (EID) for HIV-exposed-breastfed infants. We examined the association between knowledge and adherence to these guidelines among 550 HIV-infected pregnant women in Maharashtra, India. Knowledge of PMTCT guidelines was assessed using a structured-questionnaire during enrollment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi
January 2025
National Center for Women and Children's Health, National Health Commission, Beijing100081, China.
To understand the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcome in HIV-infected pregnant women and influencing factors in China and provide reference for the improvement of the health status of HIV-infected pregnant women and their newborns. Based on a mother-child cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women and children (PMTCT-MC-2005) established in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, this study enrolled pregnant women with or without HIV infection as study subjects from January 2017 to June 2023, a total of 1 646 pregnant women (558 HIV-infected and 1 088 HIV-uninfected) were included, and 34 cases with missing data were excluded. The test was used to analyze the difference in the incidence adverse pregnancy outcome between two groups, and used logistic regression model to identify the influencing factors of adverse pregnancy outcome in HIV-infected pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomed Res Int
January 2025
Department of Biology, College of Natural & Computational Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are major public health issues in developing countries, including Ethiopia. These viruses can be transmitted from mother to child during birth or through contact with contaminated blood. In many areas of Ethiopia, viral hepatitis and HIV infections are significant health concerns for pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSouth Afr J HIV Med
December 2024
Department of Nursing Science, School of Health Care Sciences, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa.
Background: HIV is a major public health issue in South Africa, with around 7.7 million people living with the virus by 2023, including 4.9 million women.
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