<p>Fertility Desire and Its Determinants Among People Living with HIV in Antiretroviral Therapy Clinic of Teku Hospital, Nepal</p>

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy in people Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) involves significant public health risks, including the risk of HIV transmission to uninfected partners and the fetus. Despite the growing importance of fertility issues for HIV-infected people, little is known about their fertility desires in Nepal. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the magnitude of and factors associated with the fertility desire of PLHIV. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 PLHIV attending the antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic in Teku Hospital, Nepal. A standard semistructured questionnaire was administered to participants using systematic random sampling. Data were entered using Epi-data 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: Out of the total participants, 12.1% desired to have a child. Among those having this desire, 44.1% had not decided when to have a child. Reasons for desiring a child were having no children (44.1%), wanting to have a child of different sex than the previous one (29.4%), followed by wanting to have another child (26.5%). Factors such as being male (

Societal and individual drivers of fertility desires and intentions among people living with HIV: a cross sectional study of HIV clinic attendees in Soweto, South Africa

“…In the current study, the most common cited reasons for wanting children were the lack of existing biological children and a preference for a child of a particular sex. These findings are consistent with those of other studies [6] , [18] , [29] , [30] . Those who did not have children of their own were five times more likely to desire children than those who already had children.…”

“…In addition, those who were married were 3 times more likely to have fertility desire than those that were not married. This is consistent with other studies where those in long term stable relationships considered child bearing [6] , [10] , [11] , [27] , [30] . Being married not only creates a sense of security but it provides a reliable support for the raising of children [27] .…”

“…Those who did not have children of their own were five times more likely to desire children than those who already had children. Other studies have made similar findings [6] , [18] , [30] – [32] . The ideal number of children that individuals would like to have is a predictor of fertility desire.…”

“…Being married not only creates a sense of security but it provides a reliable support for the raising of children [27] . The PLHIV's desire for children underscores the need for counseling and reproductive services to help PLHIV to conceive and have children safely in the future [30] .…”

Drivers of desire for more children among childbearing women in sub-Saharan Africa: implications for fertility control

“…Majority of studies on fertility desire over the world have adopted a country-specific focus, paying attention to Nigeria [ 23 ], Iran [ 24 ], Nepal [ 25 ], and Uganda [ 2 ], with a few focusing on broader geographical areas such as East Africa [ 26 ], and Nigeria and Ghana [ 12 ]. Despite this extensive research, there is a relative paucity of literature on the fertility desires in SSA, as most countries in SSA are yet to feature in studies of this kind.…”