Stepping Stones and Motherhood

For more information on breastfeeding issues for mothers living with HIV, please click on the web link.

Motherhood for women living with HIV should be a time of great joy for a woman, surrounded by care and support from healthworkers, community members, family and partners alike. Sadly this is not always the case. One of the hardest issues for women and girls in relation to HIV is the attitude of others as to whether or not they should have children. Nowadays there has been so much scientific advance in medical treatment and care that it is entirely possible for people with HIV to live productively for many years with HIV; and for women to give birth to children without HIV being transmitted to them. Unfortunately, many even in the health care sector are not yet aware of these medical advances and, even if they are, many are still against the idea of people with HIV having children as a matter of principle.

The wholly revised and updated Stepping Stones & Stepping Stones Plus therefore addresses this issue as one of its key themes. It offers exercises which encourage whole-community support for people with HIV who wish to have their own children.

Please also see the 4M Mentor Mothers programme which trains women living with HIV as ‘mentor mothers’, to support other women living with HIV on the pregnancy journey.

Additional resources on HIV and Motherhood issues can be found here

Resource Links

• Orza et al 2015a GBV and HIV JIAS
• FromPregnancytoBabyhoodAndBeyond2014.pdf
• Welbourn_Criminalisation_HOC_2009.pdf
• SS_Athena_10Reasons_Criminalisation_2009.pdf
• SS_Cochrane_Evidence_2009.pdf
• SS_RapidAdvice_InfantFeeding_2009.pdf
• SS_Coutsoudis_Counselling_InfantFeeding_2008.pdf
• SS_Coutsoudis_Presentation_Breastfeedingsupport_2008.pdf
• FinalNairobipositivemotherhoodworkshop040707