Evaluating the Knowledge of HIV Transmission and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV among HIV-Positive Mothers Accessing Care in Military Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction: The prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) plays a major role in limiting the number of children being infected by HIV. There is dearth of studies that explored the knowledge of HIV transmission and PMTCT among women living with HIV. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of HIV-positive mothers receiving medical care at the adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic, 68 Nigeria Army Reference Hospital Yaba. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the subjects concerning their socio-demographic, knowledge of HIV transmission and mother-to-child transmission of HIV and preventive measures. SPSS v23 was used for data analysis. Results: Out of the 374 participants, 282 (75.4%) were aware that HIV can be transmitted to an unborn baby from the positive mother. Of these, 240 (85.1%) were well-informed that increase mother’s viral load can increase the chances of mother-to-child transmission. 268 (95%) understood that giving of antiretroviral drugs during and after pregnancy can lower transmission risk, while 254 (90.1%) saw the use of breast milk substitutes as another prevention strategy. There was statistically significant association between the respondents’ knowledge of PMTCT and their husbands’/partners’ awareness of their HIV status. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study demonstrated a good knowledge of HIV transmission, MTCT and PMTCT among women who were receiving ART in our centre. Disclosure is a significant factor found to be associated with PMTCT knowledge. More studies can also explore if the observations in our study with women living with HIV will be comparable in similar population in different settings.

Research Progress of Related Laboratory Testing Indexes before and after Mother-Infant Blocking in HIV/AIDS Pregnant Women

More than 90% of HIV-positive children come from mother-to-child transmission, so mother-to-child interdiction is the main measure to prevent AIDS in children. Relevant data show that the incidence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV usually fluctuates between 15% and 50% without intervention. Standardized and effective comprehensive intervention can reduce the transmission rate of mother to child to less than 1%. At present, it is believed that mother-to-child transmission of AIDS can be blocked by comprehensive intervention, and its mechanism has been clearly studied. Combined with highly effective antiviral treatment, safe labor and artificial feeding, the mother to child transmission rate can be reduced to less than 1%. However, due to the effect of drugs on mother-to-child transmission of AIDS may lead to some changes in the main biochemical indicators of mother-to-child, there is no systematic analysis of the viral load, T lymphocyte subsets and major biochemical indicators of HIV/AIDS pregnant women before and after maternal-to-child transmission. In this study, the viral load, T lymphocyte subsets and major biochemical indicators of HIV/AIDS pregnant women before and after maternal-infant blockade were dynamically analyzed. It is hoped that this study will help to observe the basic physical fitness and disease development of pregnant women with HIV/AIDS during pregnancy, to provide a strong basis for the treatment and evaluation of maternal-infant blockade of HIV/AIDS pregnant women, and to establish a complete set of laboratory indicators to understand the body status of pregnant women at all stages to minimize the probability of fetal transmission, which will make good economic and social benefits.