6 research outputs found
High HIV Incidence and Sexual Behavior Change among Pregnant Women in Lilongwe, Malawi: Implications for the Risk of HIV Acquisition
HIV incidence is higher among pregnant women than their non-pregnant counterparts in some sub-Saharan African settings. Our aims were (1) to estimate HIV incidence during pregnancy and (2) to compare sexual activity between pregnant, postpartum, and non-pregnant women.We examined a retrospective cohort of 1087 women to identify seroconverters using antenatal and labor ward HIV test results. We also conducted a cross-sectional survey, including a quantitative questionnaire (n = 200) and in-depth interviews (n = 20) among women in early pregnancy, late pregnancy, postpartum, and non-pregnancy. Outcomes included measures of sexual activity, reported spouse's risky behavior, and beliefs about abstinence.11 of 1087 women seroconverted during pregnancy yielding a 1% seroconversion risk and an incidence rate of 4.0/100 person years (95% CI 2.2-7.2). The reported sexual activity of the early pregnancy and non-pregnancy groups was similar, but significantly higher than the late pregnancy and postpartum groups (p<0.001). During pregnancy, sex acts decreased as gestation increased (p = 0.001). There was no reported difference in the spouse's risky behavior. Most women believed that sex should cease between the 6(th) and 8(th) month of pregnancy and should not resume until 6 months postpartum. Some talked about conflict between their cultural obligation to abstain and fear of HIV infection if their spouses find other partners.HIV incidence is high among pregnant women in Malawi, and sexual activity decreases during pregnancy and postpartum. Pregnant women need to be informed of their increased risk for HIV and the importance of using condoms throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period
Low HIV incidence in pregnant and postpartum women receiving a community-based combination HIV prevention intervention in a high HIV incidence setting in South Africa
BACKGROUND:
Young Southern African women have the highest HIV incidence globally. Pregnancy doubles
the risk of HIV acquisition further, and maternal HIV acquisition contributes significantly
to the paediatric HIV burden. Little data on combination HIV prevention interventions during
pregnancy and lactation are available. We measured HIV incidence amongst pregnant and
postpartum women receiving a community-based combination HIV prevention intervention
in a high HIV incidence setting in South Africa.
METHODS:
A cohort study that included HIV-uninfected pregnant women was performed. Lay community-
based workers provided individualized HIV prevention counselling and performed
three-monthly home and clinic-based individual and couples HIV testing. Male partners
were referred for circumcision, sexually transmitted infections or HIV treatment as appropriate.
Kaplan-Meier analyses and Cox's regression were used to estimate HIV incidence and
factors associated with HIV acquisition. RESULTS
The 1356 women included (median age 22.5 years) received 5289 HIV tests. Eleven new
HIV infections were detected over 828.3 person-years (PY) of follow-up, with an HIV incidence
rate of 1.33 infections/100 PY (95% CI: 0.74±2.40). Antenatally, the HIV incidence
rate was 1.49 infections/100 PY (95% CI: 0.64±2.93) and postnatally the HIV incidence rate
was 1.03 infections/100 PY (95% CI: 0.33±3.19). 53% of male partners received HIV testing
and 66% of eligible partners received referral for circumcision. Women within known serodiscordant
couples, and women with newly diagnosed HIV-infected partners, adjusted hazard
ratio (aHR) = 32.7 (95% CI: 3.8±282.2) and aHR = 126.4 (95% CI: 33.8±472.2) had
substantially increased HIV acquisition, respectively. Women with circumcised partners had
a reduced risk of incident HIV infection, aHR = 0.22 (95% CI: 0.03±1.86).
CONCLUSIONS:
Maternal HIV incidence was substantially lower than previous regional studies. Community-based
combination HIV prevention interventions may reduce high maternal HIV incidence in
resource-poor settings. Expanded roll-out of home-based couples HIV testing and initiating
pre-exposure prophylaxis for pregnant women within serodiscordant couples is needed in
Southern Africa