Addressing the family planning needs of HIV-positive PMTCT clients: Baseline findings from an operations research study

Abstract

Preventing unintended pregnancy among HIV-positive women is an effective approach to reducing pediatric HIV infection and vital to meeting HIV-positive women’s sexual and reproductive health needs. Although contraceptive services for HIV-positive women is one of the cornerstones of a comprehensive program for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), a review of PMTCT programs found that implementers have not prioritized family planning (FP). While there is increasing awareness about the importance of FP and HIV integration, data about FP from PMTCT clients are lacking. The Horizons Program is conducting an operations research study testing several community-based strategies to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV in a densely settled urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Strategies being piloted include moving PMTCT services closer to the population via a mobile clinic and increasing psychosocial support for HIV-positive women. This research update presents key findings about FP at PMTCT sites, including the interaction between providers and clients as well as HIV-positive women’s fertility desires and demand for contraceptives, from the baseline cross-sectional survey and qualitative interviews with postpartum women.