Can HIV‐positive gay men become parents? How men living with HIV and HIV clinicians talk about the possibility of having children

Pralat, Robert; Burns, Fiona; Anderson, Jane; Barber, Tristan

doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13218

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…So even if that was just very briefly explained to me – that it is possible to have a child and not have them be HIV-positive, so if you ever did want children, you can go about seeking it, and we’ve got this support group or this organisation that you can go to… Unsure ‘if it’s even possible for me to have a child’, Ben emphasised his limited knowledge about HIV transmission. The incomplete understanding of how HIV is passed on was another common theme in patient interviews, as we discuss in detail elsewhere [ 33 ]. Another man, Lewis, in his early 30s, shared his memories from the time he was diagnosed, explaining what kind of information he wished he had received: ‘At the time [I was diagnosed], I thought, well, long-term partnerships are done – you know, nobody will want to be with me, unless it’s out of pity.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As we report elsewhere [ 33 ], we sought to interview men living with HIV who were gay or bisexual, 20–45 years old and without children, as well as clinical staff working with this patient group. In order to capture a range of practitioner perspectives, we decided to recruit staff in four main clinical roles: nurses, physicians, psychologists and sexual health advisers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Discussing parenthood with gay men diagnosed with HIV: a qualitative study of patient and healthcare practitioner perspectives

et al. 2021

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Background Research on HIV and reproduction has focused largely on women and heterosexual men. This article examines whether it is relevant to address parenthood in HIV care with gay men and what ways of doing so are most appropriate. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted at four London clinics with 25 men living with HIV, aged 20–45, who did not have children, and 16 HIV clinicians. A thematic analysis identified potential reasons why parenthood was rarely discussed with gay men in HIV care. Results Two sets of ideas contributed to a lack of conversations about parenthood: clinicians’ ideas about what matters to gay men and men’s ideas about what it means to be HIV-positive. Both sets of ideas largely excluded having children, with patients and practitioners similarly unlikely to raise the topic of parenthood in the clinic. Contrary to what clinician commonly assumed, many men expressed interest in receiving more information, highlighting the importance of reassuring people upon diagnosis that it is possible to become parents while living with HIV. Conclusions Parenting desires and intentions were rarely discussed with men in HIV care. Our findings illuminate the potentially beneficial effects of emphasising that having children is a possibility at diagnosis, regardless of patients’ gender or sexuality. Conveying this information seems meaningful, not only to men who want to become parents in the future but also to others, as it appears to alleviate fears about mortality and ill health.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discussing parenthood with gay men diagnosed with HIV: a qualitative study of patient and healthcare practitioner perspectives

et al. 2021

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“…It is now established that people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load and are on a treatment regime cannot transmit the virus to their children. However, this is information that clinicians did not always provide unless prompted to patients and so there is still much misunderstanding about reproductive possibilities in this community (Pralat et al, 2021).…”

Section: Fatherhood Practices Health and Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review article: Parenting leaves, workplace characteristics, male health, and the pandemic: Currents in policy-related fatherhood research in higher income countries

Koslowski¹

2023

JFamRes

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Objective: This review article provides an overview on the state of policy-related fatherhood research in high income countries. Background: The review article focuses on four main currents of multi-disciplinary policy-related fatherhood research. The first considers the research on national level parenting leaves. The second explores research on organisation and workplace policies. The third presents research on policies around male health and fatherhood practices. The fourth looks at the impact of COVID-19 related policies on fathers. Method: This is a review article and so presents a review of the literature. It is not a systematic literature review but rather aims to show the benefit of multi-disciplinary conversation within fatherhood research. Results: Commonalities are found across the four policy-related areas in terms of key questions, but also in terms of research gaps. Conclusion: There is consensus around what works for engaging fathers across policy contexts. There is perhaps a paradox in that 'de-gendered' policies are usually most effective, but that fathers need to recognise that these degendered policies are for them.

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“…Building on understandings of adherence and being ‘uninfectious’, the fourth paper, published in our February issue, is Pralat et al's (2021) Can HIV ‐ positive gay men become parents? How men living with HIV and HIV clinicians talk about the possibility of having children .…”

Section: Articles Included In This Special Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding advances in treatment and care of people living with and alongside HIV: Contributions from the Sociology of Health and Illness

Lowton

2021

Sociology Health & Illness

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Can HIV‐positive gay men become parents? How men living with HIV and HIV clinicians talk about the possibility of having children

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 7 publications

References 43 publications

Discussing parenthood with gay men diagnosed with HIV: a qualitative study of patient and healthcare practitioner perspectives

Discussing parenthood with gay men diagnosed with HIV: a qualitative study of patient and healthcare practitioner perspectives

Review article: Parenting leaves, workplace characteristics, male health, and the pandemic: Currents in policy-related fatherhood research in higher income countries

Understanding advances in treatment and care of people living with and alongside HIV: Contributions from the Sociology of Health and Illness

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