Blog 1: "Stigma of H.I.V. Is a Barrier to Prenatal Care"

This article written by Donald G. McNeil Jr., talked about the stigma that is attached to pregnant women who has Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Kenya and how pregnant women refuse treatment. The article stated that the pregnant women there in Kenya, are afraid to take the Human immunodeficiency virus test because of the unfair treatment they would receive from their families and peers if their test is positive. I noticed that this article never mentioned if some of these Kenya women were raped or sexually abused and became pregnant by their predator which is infected themselves. What about the possibilities of the husbands being affected and transferring the virus to their unsuspected wives? The study that was done could have been more specific, giving a better idea or analysis to the readers on how Kenya’s pregnant women with positive test result attained the virus that lead them to think or fear how they would be mistreated by others.

This article stated that there was a study done “1,777 women in rural Nyanza Province in Kenya; only 44 percent of mothers in the province delivered in clinics, and the study found that the women feared Human immunodeficiency virus tests.” The article goes on to say that “84 percent of the women of childbearing age” tested negative. At the end of this article it was stated how a Mexican woman was mistreated because of her Human immunodeficiency virus status. This stigma concerning pregnant women who has Human immunodeficiency virus is found in many countries. In the minds of many no matter how Human immunodeficiency virus is acquired is considered a “dirty” disease, a blemish.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/health/hiv-stigma-is-a-barrier-to-prenatal-care-study-finds.html