Returning to life, the Lived Experiences of Pregnancy in Women with HIV: A Phenomenological study

Pregnancy is every woman's stage of life, during this period, women experience Changes in physical, mental and social. although pregnancy is a challenging period for any woman, it is a more sensitive and challenging time for women living with HIV. HIV-infected women during pregnancy are facing a psychological crisis, Pregnant women are worried about transmission of infection to the baby, die prematurely ,leaving her child to be raised by family members or a guardian, drug side effects and they are anxious about the effects of pregnancy on their health. Therefore, HIV-positive pregnant women are most vulnerable and in need of supportive interventions. Pregnancy care for HIV-positive women with negative HIV women are different HIV-positive women have unique needs. However, little is known about the experience of pregnancy in HIV-positive women. The present study aimed to explore the lived experience of pregnancy in HIV-positive women.
This is a qualitative study with hermeneutic phenomenological approach. 12 HIV-infected pregnant women who referred to counseling center for behavioral diseases in Imam Khomeini Hospital Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were recruited through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews the richness of data was achieved after 16 interviews during 40 to 90 min with participants and then was analyzed by the method proposed by Diekelmann (1989).
Findings: Participants were between 22-39 years of age. After data analysis, main themes and 3 sub-themes emerged. These themes include: “return to life” with the three sub-themes of experience of motherhood, stability and protection, and gratification.
The study results revealed that although the experience of pregnancy in HIV-positive women was associated with a deep sense of fear of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, for the participants, pregnancy, and having children was viewed as a window of hope. Motherhood gave their lives meaning and provided for them to return to life. Understanding and awareness of all this is necessary for health care providers.The findings of this study emphasize on the need to design and implement comprehensive prevention strategies and interventions tailored to have a good feeling of pregnancy in these women.