Contraceptive Practices in HIV Seropositive Females in Ireland

Abstract

A questionnaire was administered to a cohort of 130 HIV seropositive women attending the Department of Genitourinary Medicine, St James's Hospital, Dublin, in order to establish their current contraceptive practices. Forty (42%) of the sexually active women did not use reliable contraception; 55 (57%) used a method reliable in fertility control only, and 21 (22%) used a method reliable in terms of both partner and congenital transmission. The intravenous drug users were less likely to use reliable contraception, 9 (39%), in comparison to the heterosexual group 14 (70%), P < 0.05. The heterosexual group were more likely to use condoms consistently, 7 (35%) in comparison to one (4%) of intravenous drug users, P < 0.02. Nineteen children, 3 borne to heterosexual mothers and 16 borne to intravenous drug-using mothers were HIV seropositive after 18 months.

Keywords

HIV female contraception

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Department of Health/Welsh Office. Short-term prediction of HIV infection and AIDS. Report of a working group. London: HMSO, 1988.

Chin

Current and future dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in women and children. Lancet 1990;336:221–4.

Department of Health, Republic of Ireland. Statistics from 1188 HIV seropositive cases up to December 1991.

Geodert

Sounding Board. What is safe sex?

N Engl J Med 1987;316:1339–41.

Valdiserri

Arena

Proctor

Bonati

FA.

The relationship between women's attitudes about condoms and their use; implications for condom promotion programmes. Am J Public Health 1989;79:499–501.

Conant

Hardy

Sernatinger

Spicer

Levy

JA.

Condoms prevent transmission of AIDS associated retrovirus (letter). JAMA 1986;255:1706.

Ngugi

Plummer

Simonsen

Prevention of transmission in Africa. Effectiveness of condom promotion and health education among prostitutes. Lancet 1988;ii:887–90.

Van de Perre

Jacobs

Sprecher-Goldberger

An efficient barrier against sexual transmission of AIDS related viruses. AIDS 1987;1(1):30–3.

Hooykaas

Van der Pligt

Van Doornum

Van der Linden

Coutinha

RA.

Heterosexual risk for HIV. Differences between private and commercial partners in sexual behaviour and condom use. AIDS 1989;3(8):525–32.

10.

Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia. Revision of case definition for AIDS, for surveillance purposes. MMWR 1987;36: No 15.

11.

Friedland

Klein

RS.

Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus. N Engl J Med 1987;317:1125–35.

12.

Hearst

Hulley

SB.

Preventing the heterosexual spread of AIDS. JAMA 1988;259:2428–32.

13.

Hart

Presentation at IVth International Conference on AIDS, Stockholm 1988.

14.

Selwyn

Carter

Schoenbaum

Knowledge of HIV antibody status and decisions to continue or terminate pregnancy among intravenous drug users. JAMA 1989;261:3567–71.