PMID- 20977713
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110714
LR  - 20220311
IS  - 1746-4358 (Electronic)
IS  - 1746-4358 (Linking)
VI  - 5
DP  - 2010 Oct 26
TI  - 'The divorce program': gendered experiences of HIV positive mothers enrolled in 
      PMTCT programs - the case of rural Malawi.
PG  - 14
LID - 10.1186/1746-4358-5-14 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: For HIV infected mothers in developing countries, choosing to enroll 
      in a prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV program is 
      supposed to represent the first step towards protecting their child from possible 
      transmission of HIV from mother to child. Counseling and testing enable HIV 
      infected mothers to learn about their status and to obtain the benefits of a 
      PMTCT package. The study on which this article is based explored experiences of 
      HIV positive women and their partners linked to Prevention of Mother to Child 
      Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs in Chiradzulu district, Southern Malawi. 
      METHODS: A qualitative study using in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group 
      discussion (FGDs) and case studies was carried at two PMTCT sites. IDIs and FGDs 
      were recorded and transcribed. The case studies involved a deeper inquiry into 
      the past, present and situational factors of selected participants. RESULTS: In a 
      context of customary matrilineal kinship, matrilocal residence patterns and 
      complete male absence from the PMTCT program, the demand by the PMTCT program for 
      partner disclosure played up fears of rejection among men given accusations of 
      infidelity by the wives' relatives. This situation led many men to abandon their 
      families. Mothers enrolled in PMTCT programs hence faced not only the fear of 
      transmitting the virus to their infants, but also the loss of income and support 
      associated with a departed husband and the social disgrace of a ruined family. 
      Community members referred to the PMTCT program as 'the divorce program' 
      CONCLUSIONS: PMTCT programs may vary in effectiveness in different contexts 
      unless they fundamentally respond to socio-cultural factors as lived out in 
      communities they intend to serve. The PMTCT program in rural southern Malawi is a 
      case in point.
FAU - Njunga, John
AU  - Njunga J
AD  - Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway. 
      johnnjunga2006@yahoo.com.
FAU - Blystad, Astrid
AU  - Blystad A
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20101026
PL  - England
TA  - Int Breastfeed J
JT  - International breastfeeding journal
JID - 101251562
PMC - PMC2987849
EDAT- 2010/10/28 06:00
MHDA- 2010/10/28 06:01
PMCR- 2010/10/26
CRDT- 2010/10/28 06:00
PHST- 2009/12/03 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2010/10/26 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2010/10/28 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/10/28 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2010/10/28 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2010/10/26 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1746-4358-5-14 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/1746-4358-5-14 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Int Breastfeed J. 2010 Oct 26;5:14. doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-5-14.