AEGiS-14IAC: Impact of perceived HIV risk, history of child loss and spontaneous abortion on desire for pregnancy among ever-married women in Zimbabwe.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Impact of perceived HIV risk, history of child loss and spontaneous abortion on desire for pregnancy among ever-married women in Zimbabwe.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. MoOrE1072)

Moyo W
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States

BACKGROUND: In a background of very high prevalence of HIV infection among women of child-bearing age and increasing demand for treatment to prevent mother to child transmission, we investigated the impact of perceived HIV risk, reporting at least one child death and spontaneous abortion in the past five years on the desire for future pregnancy in a population-based sample of women in Zimbabwe.

METHODS: A random, cross-sectional sample of 2,250 ever-married women age 15-49 years was selected from 6,828 households in rural and urban Zimbabwe. One eligible subject was selected per household for a structured interview on factors associated with desire for future pregnancy.

RESULTS: Overall, 54% of subjects desired to get pregnant in future, 55% perceived themselves at high risk for HIV infection, 6% reported the death of at least one child and 12% reported at least one spontaneous abortion in past five years. In multiple logistic regression analysis, reporting at least one child's death (OR=1.77; 95% CI 1.13-2.78) and at least one spontaneous abortion in past five years (OR=1.81; 95% CI 1.08-3.04) were significantly associated with a higher desire to get pregnant; however, perceived high risk for HIV infection did not (OR=0.85; 95% CI 0.67-1.09).

CONCLUSIONS: Perceived high risk for HIV infection was not associated with lower desire for future pregnancy. In fact, our data suggest an increased desire for future pregnancy to replace childhood deaths or spontaneous abortions that may result from HIV infection. Voluntary HIV testing services are challenged with balancing counseling messages on the strong desire for children, the risk of mother to child transmission, poor fetal outcome, and the limited availability of treatment to prevent vertical transmission. Further research is needed to explore utilitarian-economic, social and psychological values attributed to children by women and their partners.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Infections, HIV Seropositivity, Disease Transmission, Vertical, Zimbabwe, Pregnancy Complications, Infectious, Abortion, Spontaneous, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Safety, Counseling, Child, Pregnancy, Adult, Human, Female, history, prevention & control, transmission

020707
MoOrE1072