Did you know: I thought that women passed HIV to their children because they sit in the moms belly for nine months, but apparently there are also other ways to pass it to a baby. According to the center for disease control and prevention Women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, while the baby is being delivered, or through breast-feeding.Apparently the mother passing the disease on to the children is the most common way children become infected with HIV. Another fun fact from the center of disease control and prevention states that nearly all US cases of children with HIV or AIDS comes from mother to child transmission. According to avert.com If a mother "takes no preventive drugs and breastfeeds then the chance of her baby becoming infected is around 20-45%". But there are many preventative drugs to be taken. There are these medications called antiretrovirals and apparently they work to stop the virus from being given to the child. "If women take these drugs before and during birth, and their babies are given drugs after birth, HIV transmission is reduced from 25% to less than 2% (fewer than 2 in 100)".
What else I learned this week: This week I started watching all the movies and I was touched by a segment in the movie And the band played on. Towards the end they began showing the many faces of people with HIV and AIDS and there was a poster that flashed that really pulled at my heart strings. The poster was that of a little girl and it said I have AIDS please hug me, I cant make you sick. At that moment all of the tears that I had been holding back for the whole movie just poured out. Its a shame how so many people treat these victims like lepers. People with AIDS are just that they are still people and they shouldnt be treated any less. I know that if I had HIV/AIDS I would want my life to continue to be as normal as possible.
Cites:
Center for disease control and prevention (2007, October 10). Pregnancy and childbirth. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov
(2009, August 27). HIV/AIDS and pregnancy. Retrieved from www.avert.org
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I honestly never thought about how a woman can give HIV/AIDS to her child through breastfeeding. I guess I always just thought of it like you did, that since the baby was living in the womb for 9 months that is how he/she would become infected. It was very informative to know that the baby can contract HIV/AIDS in child birth and breastfeeding.
ReplyDeleteGood post. I always thought that if the mother was positive then the child would automatically be positive too. It is nice great that there are preventive drugs that can ruduce the possibilities down to 2%. That is incredibe. I am so proud of all the advancements we are making with disease control. The only problem with this is the fact that there is a still a great deal of women who do not even receive prenatal care and they would have to at least have to be getting care to know that they are positive to even take the preventive drugs.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that women could give HIV to their children through breast feeding. I figured they just got it when they were growing inside their mom's belly. It's also great that there are certain drugs that can help prevent children from getting HIV. The problem is, how many mothers that are HIV positive actually take the medications?
ReplyDeleteWow, I had the same reaction too when I got to that part in the movie. The pictures looked so sad and depressing and I ended up feeling very sad to see that a little girl would have to draw something like that because she thinks nobody would want to hug her. People with AIDS are just still people and a lot of them were healthy just like us before they got infected and a lot of them got it by accident without even knowing how they got it. They should never be discriminated against or looked down upon because they still have feelings and we should be trying to help them instead.
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of that posted in my office that someone did in needle point. It is very true. Most HIV positive people want the hug as it means human contact. So many people turn away afraid they will get HIV from shaking hands, or giving a hug that they forget that as humans we need that contact. So for many just a hug will go a long way.
ReplyDeleteNow babies do not grow in their mother's belly. They grow in the uterus, if we are going to be scientifically correct. Breast milk has the virus in it, which is why we suggest bottle feeding for women who are HIV positive. A C-section should be used over a vaginal delivery to reduce the exposure of the baby to maternal blood. 95% of babies who become HIV positive did so while in utero. The virus crosses the placenta to infect the developing fetus.
Antiretroviral drugs are the drugs we give to all HIV positive individuals to help slow down viral replication.