Emotional and disclosure experiences of South African HIV-positive women using prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services

Abstract

Background When diagnosed HIV-positive women might experience emotional turmoil which could affect their ability to disclose their HIV-positive status to significant others. Unless women manage to disclose their HIV-positive status, their partners/husbands would remain ignorant about this issue and thus unable to provide support to these women. Without their husbands’/partners’ support women are unlikely to use condoms consistently while pregnant and breastfeeding, adhere to their anti-retroviral treatment and implement appropriate infant feeding options. These aspects could have detrimental effects on the women’s lives and increase the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to their infants. Method Structured interviews were conducted with 200 women who had used prevention of mother-to-child services in one province of South Africa. Findings Almost all women experienced emotional turmoil when learning about their HIV-positive status and were surprised that they tested HIV-positive. Some women took months before disclosing their HIV-positive status to their husbands/partners and a few never did so. Conclusions Pre and post-test counselling remain vitally important to help newly diagnosed HIV-positive persons to cope with their emotional experiences and to assist them to disclose their HIV-positive status to significant others, especially to their husbands/partners. Unless prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programmes address the interrelated issues of emotional turmoil and disclosure, the outcomes of these programmes might be jeopardised.