ABSTRACT
PIP: In a public meeting held in February 1996 by the Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN) with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare representation, participants argued that women should be given full information on HIV, breast-feeding and possible alternatives. To this effect, WASN and the South African AIDS Training organized four focus groups of 15-20 participants each and 2 further focus groups of 8-12 participants each. Participants were given printed summaries of existing HIV and breast-feeding data together with the official policies and were asked to relate personal experiences and discuss the issues involved. Overall, results showed that all participants preferred breast-feeding than bottle feeding, believing it to be biologically and psychologically healthier for their infants. They were also critical of the existing information on breast-feeding and HIV for women and health providers, which they saw as inadequate. Moreover, in several southern African countries, women are questioning the universal breast-feeding recommendation on the grounds that it fails to provide sufficient information for individual women to assess their own situation and offers no alternatives to HIV-positive mothers in developing countries. Thus, health policy makers and medical practitioners are called to make all women, full partners in decision-making around breast-feeding and vertical HIV transmission.^ieng
