Antiretroviral Therapy Lack of Knowledge about Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Prevention in Pregnant Women at Tijuana General Hospital,

The objective of this study was to identify determinants of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge regarding mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) among pregnant women at Tijuana General Hospital, Baja California, Mexico. Between March and November 2003, patients from the prenatal care (n 1294) and labor and delivery (L&D) units (n 495) participated in a cross-sectional study to measure HIV knowledge. Less than one-third (30%) knew that HIV could be transmitted to a child during delivery, and 36 % knew that HIV could be transmitted by breast-feeding. Only 27 % knew that an MTCT could be prevented. Pre-natal patients were more likely to know that MTCT was preventable (prenatal: 31 % versus L&D 25%; P .02). Logistic regression indicated that prenatal patients (odds ratio 1.49, confidence interval 1.07-2.07) were more likely to know that HIV could be transmitted through breast-feeding. Overall, both groups had poor knowledge regarding MTCT of HIV