Child Transmission Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv ) Essay

Evidence shows that high maternal, neonatal and child mortality rates are associated with inadequate and poor quality maternal health care. Seventy four percent of maternal deaths can be prevented with access to the intervention for preventing or treating pregnancy and birth complications, especially obstetric care (UNFPA, 2012). As a result, the use of ANC, skilled delivery attendants and PNC services are pivotal for the betterment of maternal and child health (Babalola & Fatusi,

Mothers around the world have a common goal, to give their babies the best of everything. All mothers want their babies to have the best chances at life to thrive and survive. When a new mother has had her baby, the next question usually is will you breastfeed or bottle feed your baby? For some, that might be a very easy decision and for others it will be a complicated issue as it’s a decision that has to be made early. For mothers in Africa, the choice is particularly hard, especially if they have AIDS. These mothers risk much more than most moms to give their babies the best chance of survival. Information is not easy to come by to educate these women in their choices. Infection can still be passed on, antibiotics have to be given and food is still scarce but formula is so expensive that it often cannot be considered because money is not available for that big of a purchase. Breastfeeding is the best tool a mother can give a baby.

They asked mothers whether they received ARVs during labor, and one-third reported receiving none. Also the number of infants exposed to HIV was 15.1% and appeared to be bit higher than the HIV rate for women aged 15–49 being 12.9%.

The study was done using a prospective approach. HIV-infected women on zidovudine in 10 clinical centers were examined, and their children followed up thereafter. The follow-up was extended to a period of two years. Control of the study was women on ARV regimen excluding nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. From the study, the researchers concluded the following findings; among those exposed to zidovudine in the first trimester,

The study found that with the prenatal screening program, requiring pregnant women be screened for HIV, more women would be tested (about 1.1 million), identifying 527 HIV infected pregnant women and prevent 150 mother-infant transmission of HIV annually. This program would increase life years by 3,311 among newborns and cost an estimated $8,900 per life year gained, or $195,700 per case of HIV avoided. The new born screening program, requiring all newborn infants be screened, would result in 3.9 million infants tested annually and would prevent 266 cases of newborn HIV infection. This method would identify 1,061 HIV infected women who gave birth and increase life years by 5,878. The annual cost of the program is an estimated $40.9 million, or $7,000 per life year gained, and $153,000 per prevented HIV cases. The benefits of the newborn screening program decrease if pregnant women agree to participate in the prenatal program; however, it is argued that newborn screening is a non-consensual method of screening pregnant women (Zaric, G., Bayoumi, A., Brandeau, M., & Owens, D. 2000).

as of December 31, 1994, there were 58,448 women with AIDS in the United States.

The WHO antenatal care model outlines a strategy by which pregnant women can be reached with interventions geared towards the goal of helping women give birth successfully without complications. The model embodies the need for pregnant women to be provided optimum care along a continuum with effective high quality care before and during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Hence, the antenatal period clearly presents opportunities for reaching pregnant women with interventions that may be vital to promoting optimal health for both the mother and her child.(WHO, 2006) It is driven towards preparing for birth and parenthood as well as to prevent, identify, alleviate, or manage health problems during

Background: High rates of adverse neonatal outcomes have been reported among women with HIV. In high-income countries, small for gestational age (SGA) and pre-term birth (PTB) are among the most prevalent of these outcomes and have been variously associated with antiretroviral treatment, ethnicity/race, psychosocial risk and lack of prenatal care. While evidence demonstrates that both medical and social factors contribute to LBW and PTD, risk factors for HIV positive women in Ottawa, Canada, have not been well described.

If an infected person uses a needle to take drugs and that same needle gets used by another person, that person becomes at risk of catching HIV too. On average, one in ten new HIV infections is caused by the sharing of needles. It is estimated that there are 12 million people who inject drugs worldwide, and around 1.6 million (one in seven) are thought to be living with HIV (‘People Who Inject Drugs, HIV and AIDS’ on December 16, 2016). The last possible cause of HIV/AIDS is during pregnancy or delivery or through breast-feeding. If the mother has HIV or AIDS and is pregnant, it puts the baby at risk of catching the disease too. There is a 15-45% chance of passing HIV to their baby if the mother doesn’t take HIV treatment. So if one is a parent, it is very important to check their health for their own safety and their children 's too.

Ultimately, we learned the ways in which measurements are taken by DC CARE and other organizations in the DC metropolitan area that work with people who are living with AIDS, through our interview with Mr. Weston. We learned that there are many organizations in the area who are working to assist people who are currently living with HIV/AIDS based on a specific need that they demonstrate. Currently, DC CARE is doing their best to meet these needs by taking certain actions such as providing health insurance to low-income HIV positive individuals and training to those who directly work with these individuals. By making these fundamental efforts, service providers are really focusing their capabilities to help those people who are suffering with HIV/AIDS and are indeed making real progress. From an socioeconomics perspective, we saw that people living in lower living standards have greater chances of infections. Therefore, many organizations—including DC CARE—are contributing their budget to improve the poor’s standard of living.

Despite the clear issues that require urgent addressing such as the stagnant maternal death rate and high newborn mortality rates, other issues still require immediate attention as maternal and child health is an incredibly important topic among organizations that are focusing on global health. The reason this issue presents itself in urgency and is becoming a high priority does not solely rest in the severity of the case. The problems that surround maternal and child health are so easily

The prevalence of HIV infection among Tanzanian women is estimated to be 6.6%.10 Given the significant proportion of pregnant women who are HIV-infected in some regions of the world, it is important to determine

The theories, interventions and strategies currently used to treat individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS involve several factors as it relates to a chronic disease. According to Auslander & Freedenthal in Gehlert & Browne (2012), HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease that once diagnosed, requires adherence to complex and challenging treatment regimens. Prevention of this disease requires changes in behavior that would lead to the reduction of less risky sexual behaviors. Harm reduction is a particular treatment approach that is used with HIV/AIDS individuals. As stated by Straussner (2014), Harm reduction treatment is both a philosophy and treatment approach. It was adapted in the United States in the 1980’s to minimize the transmission of HIV among injection drug users. Clean needles were distributed to injection drug users to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS

One of the most beautiful miracles we experience in this world is the birth of a child, an expecting mother pregnant with her baby is considered to be sacred in many cultures. Most expecting mothers try their best to prevent any harm coming to their unborn child from any diseases or birth defects that could affect their baby. Yet still in this day and age with all the resources, medicines, and treatments we have available to improve maternal health, approximately eight hundred women die each day from preventable causes that is related to childbirth and pregnancy(Maternal). Those are eight hundred deaths a day which totals up to two hundred and ninety two thousand deaths annually that could have been prevented with standard adequate treatments and about ninety nine percent of those deaths happen in developing countries because the expecting mother would catch an infection during her pregnancy or during childbirth. Improving maternal health is one of the eight major focuses for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

In today’s world HIV/AIDS has become an epidemic that has not only challenged the research of our medical professionals, but also the lives of several children born with this infectious disease. In order to understand this epidemic we have to travel the path in which it was discovered. In 1985, human immunodeficiency also known as HIV was discovered by scientist and that discovery alone brought up many questions with very little definite answers. Due to this discovery several people are in search of an understanding & cure for this disease, but the question still remains what is AIDS and how can we prevent the transmission from mother to fetus?