Mothering with HIV

To date, HIV research with women has tended to focus on transmission, prevention and treatment phenomena (Logan-Kennedy et al. AIDS Care 26(6):777–784, 2014), which perceives women with children through a narrow set of ‘motherhood’ discourses and practices. This chapter considers the maternal HIV experience from historical, cultural and sociological contexts taking account of the HIV pandemic. It discusses the maternal HIV experiences across the multiple eras of HIV, spanning from before AZT medication was available to the current U=U era. The changes and advances in HIV treatments have affected the maternal HIV experience considering the life-changing impact of this diagnosis and the often highly gendered implications of this condition. Central to the chapter is data from a qualitative study with Irish based mothers living with HIV that allows for insight into the unique challenges negotiated by MLHIV. This included the unexpected nature of the diagnosis which influenced how they responded to their diagnosis, their child-centred response was most common and it emerged most considering their own health of lesser importance than that of their children. For mothers, telling others they had HIV was a concern and this included decisions about who needs to know, the how and when to tell. Throughout this chapter, the maternal focused discussion provides understanding about these experiences which to date have received little attention and acknowledgement.