Magnitude and Factors Affecting Fertiliy Desire among Women Living With HIV in Addis Ababa City Adminstration Ethiopia
Creators: name: Hadgu, Almaz
Publisher: name: National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia
Year: 2010

description: Back ground: Effective linkages between the sexual, reproductive health and the HIV interventions are essential to ensuring the reproductive rights of women living with HIV. The sexual and reproductive decisions faced by women with HIV involve their desire for pregnancy, their contraceptive practices, their choices about an unintended pregnancy, and their prenatal and postnatal options to reduce perinatal HIV transmission. Objective:-The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude and factors affecting child desire of women living with HIV in the food distribution sites of four sub cities of Addis Ababa. Methods: - A quantitative cross sectional survey on 414 HIV-positive women at four sub cities of Addis Ababa was conducted from February to April 2010. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and fertility needs were collected using structured and pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire. This was supplemented by qualitative study (FGD). Descriptive analysis followed by binary and multivariate logistic regression was made to assess predictors of their desire to have future children. Result: - Subjects had median age of 31 years and had been diagnosis with HIV for mean of 55 months. 39.9% of women in the food program have future child desire. Among those desiring children 90.6% of them were not having children currently. Majority women living with HIV and their partners have similar desire to have children in the future. As many as 63% of HIV positive women who desire children have a partner who does. Generally, women living with HIV who desire children are younger, not educated, have no children, having partner who have child desire and CD4 count &gt;200cell/mm3. Moreover lack of health professional's discussion about reproductive health increases future child desire of women. Respondents in the age group 40 years and above had less likely to desire future children (AOR: 0.06, 95% CI: [0.01-0.58] than the other age group. Having primary and secondary education were less likely to desire children (AOR: 0.14, 95%CI: [0.04-0.52] &amp; AOR: 0.16, 95% CI: [0.05-0.47] respectively. Respondents having one or more children were less likely to desire children. Respondents with partners not having future child desire were less likely to have children in the future (AOR: 0.27,95% CI:[0.01-0.78] and those whose CD4 count is &gt;200cell/mm3 and not discussed about reproductive health with the health professionals were more likely to have future child(AOR:4.48,95% CI:1.27-15.77 and AOR:6.2,95% CI:2.08,18.5)respectively. viii Conclusion: Younger age, not educated, not having currently alive children, partner's future child desire, having current CD4 count of &gt;200cell/mm3 and lack of discussion about sexuality with their counselors are factors associated with child desire of women living with HIV. Recommendations: Women living with HIV and who desire children have numerous service needs in addition to future closely linked to medical care. The issues of mother with HIV need to be emphasizes at all levels including policy, programmatic and service level.