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HIV and Pregnancy: Risks and Considerations

I will never forget the first day we met 
and the twinkle that I saw in your eye
full of life, full of love and glowing with spirit

As time passed by 
I watched as you were slipping away
yet each time you would come home

and each time I would see that twinkle in your eye
full of life, full of love glowing with spirit

we shared laughs over Snicker bars and Kool-Aid
we shared out thoughts of life and our dreams

then one day I got the call
you were preparing to leave
but again, you changed your mind
and again, I saw the twinkle in your eye
full of life, full of love and glowing with spirit

you came back home
but only stayed for a short time

I watched as the twinkle dimmed
but your spirit remained high
as you said your last good bye

I will always remember those eyes
full of life, full of love and glowing with spirit
and how I found you as a buddy and lost you as a friend
all because of AIDS

Copyright, 1997-00, C.L. Johnson,
(to order contact prideinart)

Purpose: This site was created by Iowa State University students enrolled in a Women's Studies class. We are not, nor are we claiming to be experts in this area. Our goal is strictly to create a resourse for women who are traveling this path. We have included information, statistics, medical information, advocacy, personal stories and other topics that we hope you will find useful. We hope that this site and the links we have found assist you in your search for knowledge. We have chosen to open our page with the above poem. It is in many ways hard to read with the touching way the author passes on the struggle and loss to the reader, yet it shows perfectly that HIV/AIDS effects many more than those who have become infected in this epedemic. This sentiment is well known by those women who have fallen victim to this disease and are pregnant. Care for yourself and support others.

7000-8000 babies are born to HIV positive women in the United States. Though many of these children are free from disease, a staggering 500-600 will be infected with the virus. These numbers can be decreased with information and education. Appropriate prenatal care for the mother and child can reduce the risk of infection for the baby. According to Catherine M. Wilfert, M.D., Scientific Director, Duke University Medical Center, with the appropriate care before and during delivery the infection number for newborns can be reduced to less than 70-80 (<1%). See AIDS Care.

Women's Studies 201 homepage the bottom of this site has awesome links for women's issues. Specifically there is a link on women's health issues which will then take you to the Reproductive Health and Rights Center. This link was created for a Women's Studies class at Iowa State University.

Love's recovery I added this link as I felt it was a wonderful story of hope and love of a woman who chose to have her baby despite her HIV status and the joys it has brought her. Miller-Hill has also been appointed to the mayor's HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council of New York City. Here is the beginning excerpt.

by Belinda Filippelli

Nothing seems to stay still around
Rusti Miller-Hill. When I call her with
a follow-up question about her
three-year-old son, Brandon, she
begins to describe to me again what a
blessing he has been. Then she tells
me to hold on. "Be quiet!" she tells
him. "And pull your pants back on!"
She returns to our conversation and
says, in the same breath, "Really, he
has changed my life."

WISE Words is an advocacy group that provides information about Project WISE which is a program focused on HIV/AIDS treatment and advocacy for women. Tools are provided for making HIV treatment decisions. Learn about issues such as anti-HIV therapy, prevention and treatment, gynecological health, plus more. Also find out about current research and public policy. Read stories shared by women with HIV/AIDS.

March of Dimes How common is HIV among pregnant women and their babies? An informational site on HIV and AIDS in Pregnancy. Includes a public health education information sheet. Information on newborn testing, how infection occurs and who should be tested. The March of Dimes has been assissting in health issues of infants and babies since 1938.

AIDS and Africa is a site that contains information from the Centre for International Cooperation in Health and Development (CCISD) whose purpose is to coordinate, plan and manage interventions on health care issues in developing countries. The site includes a slide-show on the epedemic in Africa, parenteral and perinatal transmission information, treatments, and sociological factors, including info on women and AIDS.

PG and HIV Article summary on the issues involving African-American women who are pregnant and HIV positive. The articles were published in an anthology used in a Women's Studies course at Iowa State University.

Hispanic Teens What are the risks that Hispanic adolescents are participating in? An assessment was done in New York City involving pregnant Hispanic teens and their risk behaviors in accordance to HIV. The article was published in Adolescence, a sociological journal.

Testing What type of consent should be appropriate today and in the future for HIV testing? Recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UN Click here for a press release given to the Commission on Population and Development. It includes reproductive health care and HIV/AIDS issues. Specific reference is made to South African concerns, followed by discussion of the commission panel.

IAPAC Click here for an article on African-American and Latina Women and their fight to obtain AIDS care. The article is from the Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care.

AEGIS A MUST SEE!!! This site is a non-profit charitable and educational corporation. It has a wealth of information on women's topics, HIV and AIDS and how it affects pregnancy. It is the largest web site on HIV/AIDS. There is also daily updates on information in the news or media, a law library including information on decisions and briefs, information on findings in the Appellate Courts, non U.S. Groups information, and chat rooms to connect with others for knowledge and support.