HIV-positive mothers advised to wean at six months

A new study recommends that HIV-positive women practise exclusive breastfeeding for six months and then wean off abruptly.

Family support, education and cultural norms are important factors that may influence an HIV-positive mother’s decision to stop breastfeeding, it says.

The study by researchers Melissa Morgan, Rose Masaba, Mary Nyikuri and Timothy Thomas of the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Kisumu, says counselling and family support may play integral roles in early breastfeeding cessation.

The study, published in Aids Care, says prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, highly active anti-retroviral therapy (Haart) is provided from 34 weeks gestation through delivery to six months postpartum.

The researchers explored factors such as education, family support, cultural norms and sources of information about perinatal HIV transmission which may influence a mother’s decision whether to stop breastfeeding when Haart is discontinued.

The researchers studied 18 mothers, 10 who stopped breastfeeding and eight who continued and found it possible to examine how different factors may have affected them. All the lactating mothers said it was untraditional to stop breastfeeding at six months.

Mothers who stopped breastfeeding reported more family support, were better educated and were more likely to disclose their HIV status.
Those who continued breastfeeding often expressed concern about stigma.

Participants learnt about mother-to-child transmission at clinics, churches and from other HIV-positive mothers.