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HIV disclosure is a complex phenomenon. The choice of disclosure or non-disclosure is a reflection of how each HIV-positive person experiences and deals with HIV/AIDS in their everyday life. In this study, we qualitatively explore the experiences of disclosing HIV status to family members and children among HIV-positive women living in Thailand. Due to fear of stigma and discrimination, the women decided to tell only a few people, usually their significant others including parents and children. Although most women received good support from their family members, some were rejected and discriminated against by their family members. This stems from lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS among family members. Women found disclosure to their children a difficult decision to make. Only some women told their children about their HIV status. They wished to protect their children from emotional burden. This protection also appeared in their attempts to prepare their children for dealing with HIV/AIDS. Support from family members played a major role in the lives of HIV-positive women. Although disclosure has been promoted as a means of ending stigma and discrimination, our data suggested that disclosure may not be positive for some women. This has implications for health promotion in HIV health care. Healthcare providers need to appreciate the ramifications of promoting disclosure to HIV-positive women who are mothers.

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Mothers who use drugs face much discriminatory action as society in general finds female drug users' modes of caring for their children unacceptable. In this article, I explore the ways in which Thai women's injecting practices revolve around the role of mother 'maae' and the ways they employ tactics to challenge the motherhood discourse. This article draws on in-depth interviews with 30 Thai mothers injecting drugs. Thai mothers injecting drugs struggled with stigma and self-blame. They internalise the values of the mother 'maae', that is, what the mother is supposed to be; attempting to combine their drug use with their parental responsibilities. Having a child is treated as a means for many women to manage the hostile social impacts of being an addict mother as well as anxieties about the future of their children. To maintain identity as a mother, as gender norms dictates, the mothers employ several tactics to defend that identity from the threats. In conclusion, the findings have implications for harm reduction and reproductive services for women using drugs in Thailand; health care providers need to appreciate the ramifications of the lived experiences of the women who take drugs.