Background: The HIV epidemic has greatly affected sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest prevalence in
the world found in Swaziland. One in three pregnant women in Swaziland has HIV. One of the PMTCT
strategies is primary prevention of HIV among women who are uninfected. Understanding the reasons
why pregnant women continue to seroconvert is the key in meeting this strategy.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the factors associated with seroconversion among
pregnant women utilizing Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in 2012.
Objectives: The objectives of this study are to: determine the proportion of HIV non-infected pregnant
women who are retested for HIV during pregnancy; determine the gestational age at which pregnant
women are retested for HIV; establish the proportion of women who were initially HIV non-infected and
seroconverted during pregnancy; and establish the factors associated with seroconversion during
pregnancy.
Methods: An observational cross-sectional study design with both descriptive and analytic components
was carried out at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital. Systematic sampling was used for the recruitment
of 381 pregnant women who were initially HIV non-infected. An interviewer-administered questionnaire
and chart review were used to collect demographic and clinical data. The data was analyzed using
descriptive and analytic statistics.
Results: The results of the study show that demographic factors such as age and educational level are
associated with HIV seroconversion during pregnancy. The findings also highlight how partner factors
play a role in HIV seroconversion. The results indicate that sexual behaviours 333of the pregnant
women contribute greatly to HIV seroconversion.
Conclusion: Pregnant women continue to engage in risky sexual behaviours during pregnancy and there
is need to strengthen counseling on preventive measures throughout the antenatal care period. There is
also need for programs to explore possibility of providing antiretroviral drugs for pre-exposure
prophylaxis to all HIV negative women during pregnancy. / Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/11082 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Wusumani, Sibongile. |
| Contributors | Voce, Anna. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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