1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]his study examines how HIV [human immunodeficiency virus]-positive women in Canada who are invested in motherhood (i.e. women who want and/or have biological children) make decisions about motherhood, from pregnancy planning to the post-partum period.» (p. 433)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The sample consists of 42 heterosexual HIV-positive women: 32 mothers; six women who were pregnant or in the early post-partum period with their first baby; and four women without children who wished to become pregnant. Seventeen participants were African, 12 Haitian and 13 Caucasian French Canadian. Thirty women were receiving ART [active antiretroviral treatment], and 12 had discontinued treatment.» (p. 434-435) «Participants were recruited from 2004 to 2005 in Montreal [...].» (p. 434)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«While the biomedical risks of ART and HIV transmission are commonly considered central to the reproductive experiences of HIV-positive women, [study] findings emphasise that women negotiate a range of interrelated risks on the path to motherhood. These were biological but also included psychological, social, economic and spiritual risks, and varied in salience by model of motherhood. Among women who equated motherhood with ‘self-fulfilment and completeness’, the risk of vertical transmission predominated, followed closely by risks of deteriorating parental health which could compromise their children’s future. At stake for these African, French Canadian and Haitian women was especially the threat posed by HIV to their identity as women and mothers.» (p. 441) «Study findings also revealed that interactions with providers were, at times, unsatisfactory and characterised by unequal power relations, which varied by model of motherhood and affected decision-making. In a paternalistic model of care, focusing on biomedical problems, providers make decisions in the best interest of patients without much of their involvement. The interactions described by women who viewed motherhood as ‘self-fulfilment and completeness’ most closely conformed to this approach.» (p. 442)