The Voices That Influence HIV-Positive Mothers' Breastfeeding Practices in an Urban, Ghanaian Society.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization recommends that HIV-positive mothers should breastfeed for at least 1 year. There are people in the lives of these mothers who influence their decisions. Research aim: The aim was to explore the role of social persuasion in the decision-making processes of HIV-positive breastfeeding mothers. METHODS: A qualitative, exploratory research design was employed ( N = 13). Participants were recruited from a public hospital in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. One-on-one interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and the contents of the transcripts were analyzed for emerging themes. RESULTS: The perspectives of spouses, health workers, counselors, and siblings about breastfeeding affect the breastfeeding practices of mothers living with HIV in Ghana. Most of the women had negative experiences with their midwives. Because of complex social and cultural influences, the opinions of spouses, health professionals, siblings, and members of the communities in which breastfeeding mothers with HIV live influence breastfeeding practices. CONCLUSION: This study described HIV-positive, breastfeeding mothers' perceptions of the role played by spouses, health professionals, siblings, and the community in breastfeeding decisions and practices. Influential people in the lives of breastfeeding mothers with HIV should be involved during interventions by HIV counselors to promote breastfeeding practices.

Qualitative exploration of psychological reactions and coping strategies of breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Exploring the psychological reactions of breastfeeding mothers living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an important step which may improve guidelines for counselling. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological reactions and coping strategies of breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. METHODS: Qualitative descriptive exploratory design was used to explore the psychological experiences and coping strategies of 13 breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in a main referral public hospital, at the greater Accra Region of Ghana. An interview guide was designed and piloted before it was used to collect data between November, 2014 and February, 2015. Data was content analyzed for themes and subthemes to emerge. RESULTS: The two major themes that emerged included psychological reactions and coping strategies. Some of the subthemes were fear, anxiety, blame, hope, denial, prayer and trust in positive situations of life. CONCLUSION: The women used denial, prayer and hope in ART, among others to cope with their emotions. This highlights the need for HIV counsellors to detect signs of denial since it can lead to non-adherence to ART as well as relapse. Health workers should therefore put the coping strategies in context during counselling of mothers in this category.