HIV Positive Women and Health Care

Discrimination and stigma have been identified as barriers to health care, suggesting that HIV-infected, pregnant women may be disinclined to seek prenatal care if health-care workers exhibit negative attitudes. In a qualitative study of the attitudes of health-care workers toward pregnant, positive women, several theoretical perspectives emerged as a way to evaluate the gender, race and class issues inherent in pregnancy decision-making for HIV-positive women. Because HIV-infected people have been stigmatized since the epidemic began, Goffman’s stigma theory provides a reasonable starting point for analyzing why HIV-positive women who become pregnant experience discrimination and stigmatization. Foucault’s discussion of the power/knowledge matrix affords a historical context for the suppression of people with HIV and offers suggestions for breaking the pattern. Finally, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory offers a framework for understanding HIV-infected women’s health behaviors. These theories can broaden our understanding of the impact of prevailing negative attitudes toward pregnant, HIV-positive women