Adjustment to Pregnancy and to the Birth of a Child of HIV-Infected Women

Abstract

Pregnancy and motherhood have been, throughout time, considered an essential vector in women’s identity. The values and cultural norms of the wide majority of the occidental societies encourage the reproduction and emphasize motherhood as a recognized value for most women. The cultural differences, in turn, determine different levels of importance regarding reproduction issues. In some communities, the pregnancy raises the women’s status and it is often felt as a moment of personal accomplishment. Babies represent love, acceptance and a legacy for the future, even among women which future might be dramatically compromised.

The objective of the present study is to assess the adjustment of HIV-infected women to pregnancy and to the birth of a child. As adjustment indicators we assess in a sample of 31 HIV positive pregnant women: the perceived stress; psychopathology; and emotional reactivity.

Although the pregnancies that occur in risk contexts or when an illness is diagnosed (e.g., HIV/AIDS infection) during prenatal routine may imply higher demands of adjustment, the results of this study suggest that pregnancy is a protector context regarding the expression of psychopathology or the negative emotional reactivity.