Pregnancy Desire, Partner Serodiscordance, and Partner HIV Disclosure among Reproductive Age HIV-Infected Women in an Urban Clinic

Abstract

Women comprise 25% of the US HIV epidemic, with many women of reproductive age. There is a need for providers to address the reproductive needs and desires of women with HIV given that effective antiretroviral therapy has transformed HIV into a chronic disease. This cross-sectional study shows high rates of partner serodiscordance (61%) and moderate HIV disclosure to partners (61%). Patients surveyed reported practitioners discuss condoms (94%) and contraception (71%) more often than pregnancy desire (38%). In our sample, 44% of the surveyed women intended future pregnancy, whereas women who did not intend future pregnancy cited HIV/health and serodiscordance as the most common reasons (56% and 35%, resp.). There was no difference in the knowledge of mother-to-child transmission risk between women who intended or did not intend future pregnancy (p = 0.71). These results underline the need for provider training in reproductive counseling to promote risk reduction and education.

Reproductive desire among women living with HIV/AIDS in Central Brazil: Prevalence and associated factors

“…The reproductive desire of participants’ partners was associated with the outcome investigated, as found in other studies [ 13 , 25 , 35 ]. Finocchario-Kessler et al [ 29 ] emphasized that in relationships, children are highly valued for the emotional fulfillment they provide to the parents and for the connection generated between the couple.…”

“…In Asia, one study found a prevalence of 34.0% in Iran [ 34 ]. In North America, prevalence ranging from 25.8% in Canada to 44.0% in the United States has been estimated [ 16 , 34 , 35 ]. These studies have reported differing results, which may be associated to differences in geographical location, cultural factors, prevalence of determinants, and methodological differences applied in each investigation [ 16 , 36 ].…”

Prevalence and factors associated with fertility desires/intentions among individuals in HIV‐serodiscordant relationships: a systematic review of empirical studies

“…Another study of PLWH with a partner living without HIV/HIV unknown status partner reported a prevalence of 58% [66]. Regarding WLWH, the three studies found percentages varying from 32% to 55% [25,68,69].…”

“…Three studies included both members of the dyad [6,65,67], and the number of serodiscordant couples ranged from 11 to 143 (M = 68; SD = 67.82). In the three studies with WLWH in a serodiscordant relationship, they were the index partner [25,68,69]. In the three studies that included both members of the dyad, the man was the index partner [6,65,67].…”

“…In two studies, this information was not reported [64,66]. Almost all studies (7/8; 87.5%) reported how the fertility desires/intentions were assessed, of which four clearly reported a dichotomous response choice [6,66,68,69] and one mentioned that responses greater than zero represented fertility desires/intentions [25]. One study did not report any information about the question specifically assessing the outcome of interest [64].…”