Our previous studies on the experiences and views of women about the provision of PMTCT in Hanoi included criticisms about the quality of services provided by health workers [4] . Other studies in Asia found that health workers were unwilling to provide appropriate care for HIVpositive pregnant women, often because of their own fear or lack of knowledge, or because of high workloads and lack of staff [13, 14] . Inadequate health care delivery may be caused by a variety of factors, but we need to identify the main issues before planning interventions to strengthen it.