The Tema Metro Tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (TB/HIV) Coordinator, Ms. Joanna Anorkor Lartey, has described as worrying the trend of some HIV-positive mothers refusing to give the prophylaxis medication to their babies.
Ms. Lartey, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema ahead of World AIDS Day, said such an act could lead to uninfected babies contracting the virus from their positive mothers.
She said that as part of the HIV prevention programme in the country, pregnant women undergo a compulsory test to prevent mother-to-child transmission (perinatal transmission).
She added that when tested positive, the child born to the mother will be put on antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent the virus from being transmitted to the child.
She, however, disclosed that checks from her outfit showed that some of the mothers do not give the medications to the babies for fear of stigmatisation.
“Some of them, because after birth they stay with others, such as in-laws, find it difficult to give the medication to the babies to avoid disclosing their status to others,” she said.
The TB/HIV Coordinator indicated that to ensure that the babies received the medication at birth, the midwives in the various facilities in the metropolis should make the medication available to the mothers at 34 weeks of gestation to add to their preparation for delivery.
She said the free medicine is given to the babies right after birth, even before breastfeeding, to protect them from the virus that could have passed from the mother to the child during pregnancy and childbirth.
Meanwhile, a total of 82 pregnant women tested HIV positive in 2022 on their first visit, while 11 more were also found positive when tested at 34 weeks of gestation for the same year.
For the first half of 2023, 32 of the pregnant women tested positive at the initial stage, while 26 came out positive at 34 weeks of their pregnancy.
Ms. Lartey disclosed that 149 women in the Tema Metropolis who had already tested positive for HIV were recorded at antenatal clinics between January and June 2023.
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