How do you tell a child they have AIDS? How many kids are born with AIDS in Africa? Due to the epidemic of AIDS in Africa should the United States assist in supplying mothers who test HIV positive baby formula to discourage breastfeeding? HIV is not spread through pregnancy, but in breast milk. It would make a difference if mothers who are HIV positive in Africa did not breastfeed. Being that Africa can lay claim to having two-thirds of the worlds HIV positive population, one way to help stop the spread among kids would be to eliminate the breastfeeding altogether.
While the world keeps supplying condoms and other forms of contraceptives, this author believes that HIV could be eliminated from being transferred to their children if they stop breastfeeding. A lack of education also contributes to them being unaware of how to prevent the HIV spreading into AIDS. HIV mother to baby transmission can be reduced by educating the positive infected HIV expectant mothers. Mothers of newborns should be encouraged not to breastfeed at all. HIV is widely known for being spread through bodily fluids.
Breast milk is a body fluid. Not all children are born with HIV for some reason, the ones that are negative will get it if the mother breastfeeds. In order to prevent the transmission of AIDS from mothers to infants, the whole population needs to be educated. “Without preventive interventions, approximately one-third of infants born to HIV-positive mothers contact HIV through mother to child transmission, becoming infected during their mothers’ pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding”(“HIV and Infant”).
To help with the prevention of transmission in Africa, the United States, along with other countries, needs to educate pregnant women about how HIV can be and in most cases is transmitted, and how to prevent their children from contracting AIDS. There are many different approaches to educating people however one of the best ways is informal. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends that; “All HIV-infected mothers should receive counseling that includes information about the risks and benefits of various infant feeding options and specific guidance in selecting the most suitable option for the situation” (“Strategic Approaches”).
When volunteers do go Africa to do education, what and how are they teaching? The very first step should be teaching the proper use of condoms. This alone could help slow the spread of HIV however it will not stop the spread completely. Another myth that is very hard to believe exist is that infected males belief is that if they have intercourse with a virgin they will be cured of the AIDS virus. Getting volunteers to educate men about the false claims of this myth is very hard to do.
This woeful myth leads to the rapes of very young girls to include babies as young as six months old. This has taken years and years to spread and will continue to spread until people are educated. In order to minimize the transmission of AIDS from mothers to infants, women should be encouraged to breastfeed for a shorter amount of time or, if possible, eliminate breastfeeding altogether. In a WHO study, out of 397 women who had HIV and breastfed, 24 of those infants died.
This is compared to six out of 200 HIV-infected women who used formula (“HIV Transmission”). UNICEF suggests that “When replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe, the avoidance of all breastfeeding by HIV-positive mothers is recommended “(“HIV and Infant”). The WHO recognizes that it is not always possible for mothers to avoid breastfeeding, because they do not have formula and other necessary supplies.
In order to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their children, “breastfeeding should be discontinued as soon as feasible, taking into account local circumstances, the individual woman’s situation and the risks of replacement feeding” (Strategic Approaches”). It may be difficult to reduce the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies, but by educating the public and encouraging mothers to use formula when possible, it is possible to make a difference. With the elimination of breastfeeding of HIV-positive mothers’ in Africa in theory has merits, for most this not very realistic.
This can be contributed to not having access to formula or the financial means to afford the formula if it was available. Works List Cited “HIV Transmission Through Breastfeeding: A Review of Available Evidence. ”
World Health Organization, 2001. Web. 19 Jan. 2010. “HIV and Infant Feeding. ” UNICEF in Action. UNICEF. Web. 18 Jan. 2010. Strategic Approaches to the Prevention of HIV Infection in Infants. Proc. of World Health Organization, Morges, Switzerland. WHO, 20 Mar. 2002. Web. 18 Jan. 2010.