| Rita |
Is 18 years old and has two children (a two-year-old and
11-month-old girl, both HIV-). She is a housewife and education up to
the fourth year of elementary school, she discovered she had HIV
during her first pregnancy, in the fifth month. Her partner is HIV-
and she assumes she became infected in a previous relationship. The
couple makes sporadic use of condoms, without much concern about the
partner becoming infected. They do not use any method of
contraception. If she gets pregnant again, she believes she will be
stronger than the HIV. |
| Ângela |
Is 33 years old in a stable relationship for the last
year and a half and her partner has not been HIV tested. She has known
her HIV status for five years. She works in a bank and graduated high
school. She has triplets who are now three months old. Shortly after
the birth she suffered a hemorrhage and needed a hysterectomy. With
three young babies and having had a struggle with death, Ângela states
that being HIV positive is a lesser problem compared with her other
worries, as she feels lonely and overloaded, depending on support from
her relatives. |
| Ana Carolina |
Is 30 years old and separated. She found she had HIV in
the 6th month of pregnancy. Her companion does not have HIV. After
discovering her HIV status the couple separated rancorously. She has a
three year old boy, HIV-, who lives with his paternal grandparents.
She states that because she is HIV positive she will not have any more
children. |
| Flávia |
She is 24 years old and is pregnant. She is a
hairdresser and has finished high school. Her partner is also HIV
positive and both have known their HIV status for four years. The
pregnancy was unplanned and the couple makes sporadic use of condoms.
They fear that the pregnancy will reveal their HIV status, which had
been secret, will be revealed to their families. When she found out
she was pregnant she thought about having an abortion, as she believed
the child would be born HIV positive. The doctor told her that there
was a low risk to the child if she used appropriate treatment and so
the couple decided to go through with the pregnancy. If the risk of
MTCT had been high, she said she would have chosen to have an
abortion. For her, having a HIV negative child is a true mission to be
accomplished. |
| Mariana |
She is 23 years old. She became pregnant in 1998 and
there was no HIV test. After the birth, the child fell ill and the
family got tested and discovered that they were all HIV positive. The
baby died aged four months. The partner (an intravenous drug user)
died six months after the baby was born. She reported difficulties in
forming new emotional bonds for fear of losing a loved one again and
spoke of feelings of guilt about the child that died and, moreover,
she considers the death of her child from HIV to be a personal
failure. |
| Miriam |
Is 33 years old, separated and lives in a refuge. She is
an ex-sex worker and currently works in the refuge. She has a daughter
from her first marriage (now aged 10 and HIV-). After separating, she
returned to sex work and became pregnant from a client. She has known
about her HIV for five years (having discovered after a previous
abortion) and had not sought any treatment. She finally sought
treatment because of the pregnancy and decided to keep the baby now a
two-year-old boy, HIV-). She highlights the importance of
institutional support and states that if it wasn't for her son I would
be dead, I didn't take care of myself and used drugs. |
| Bianca |
Is 33 years old, lives in a refuge and has left
prostitution. She has two children from a previous relationship who
live with her mother (an 18-year-old boy and a girl aged 13, both
HIV-). She became pregnant from a client and intended to give the baby
up for adoption. Two years after the birth of her daughter, Bianca
fell ill and suspected she had HIV. She discovered she was HIV
positive, and her daughter tested negative. Bianca states that she
tried not to become close to her daughter, as she was expecting her
own death from Aids. She says that she felt depressed and suffered,
although the only positive thing in her life was the fact her daughter
does not have HIV. |
| Dia |
Is 29 years old and an artisan. She has a daughter (now
aged five and HIV-) and during her second pregnancy her husband fell
ill and was hospitalized, discovering he had HIV. The second child is
three years old and HIV negative. Dia moved to São Paulo and lives
with her grandparents. She was treated in a group with other pregnant
women and recognizes the importance of group and individual
psychological work, after her second pregnancy she was sterilized. She
had planned to have four children but, because of the HIV, decided to
get sterilized, fearing to have a HIV positive child, considering this
as something unacceptable, a failure. |
| Sílvia |
Is 22 and lives with her mother. She has a daughter (now
aged nine months and HIV-). She discovered she had HIV when she was 16
and, although she thought she wouldn't be able to have children
because of the HIV, had various relationships. She became pregnant
from her boyfriend as the condom split. He didn't know she was HIV+
and is now threatening her. Before falling pregnant, Silvia used drugs
and did not look after herself. Nowadays she works, does not use drugs
and looks after herself and her daughter, grateful for the
institutional support she receives (from an NGO and specialized health
care team). |
| Débora |
Is 30 years old, a receptionist and has a child aged
fourteen months (HIV-). She discovered she has HIV 10 years ago when
her boyfriend fell ill and died. Six years ago she began a
relationship with the father of her child (also (HIV+) and he decided
that they would have a child. She got pregnant and believed the child
would be HIV+. After receiving medical guidance, she felt more
confident, she had high hopes that her child would be saved from HIV.
She separated from the father six months ago and began a new
relationship. |
| Eliana |
Is 30 years old and has been married for 16 years. She
has three children, the first, a daughter, is 13 (HIV-), the second
five (HIV+) and the youngest two (HIV-). She found out about the HIV
when her second daughter fell ill and was hospitalized. The hospital
verified that HIV had been found (on the child's medical records) and
the family had not been notified. The couple was tested and both were
HIV positive. She got pregnant a third time, when the condom broke,
and underwent treatment to prevent MTCT. The couple has made a pact to
keep silent and there are difficulties in the relationship. Eliana
reports feeling guilt and worry about her HIV positive daughter. |
| Cátia |
Is 33, a housewife and has five children: a daughter
aged 12 (HIV-), a boy of 7 (HIV-), another boy aged 6 (HIV+) and
five-month-old twins (HIV-). She discovered the HIV when her third
child fell ill at three months. Her partner is not HIV+ and they
assume she was infected from a blood transfusion during her second
pregnancy. The last pregnancy was not planned (the couple do not use
any form of contraception) and she reports that the relationship with
her current partner is marked by conflict and violence. She says that
when she is pregnant he doesn't hurt her. |
| Celina |
At age 28 she has two children: her oldest son is aged
11 (whose father was killed when he was six months old) and the
younger is seven months old. She found out about the HIV during her
second pregnancy, when her partner was in prison and she was in her
3rd month. He was released when she was reaching the end of the
pregnancy. They have made a pact of silence, her partner (HIV and
hepatitis C positive) is not receiving treatment and they make only
sporadic use of condoms. |
| Márcia |
Is 26 years old and has two children (a daughter aged
10, HIV-, and another aged six months, HIV-). She works in a bar. She
found out about the HIV when she was five months pregnant, a few days
after her first partner had died. She has had three partners: two died
and one abandoned her while she was pregnant. She spoke of repeated
experiences of losing partners and family and associating death with
birth. She reported alcohol abuse. She did not want to become involved
with another man, fearing more loss. |
| Maria |
Maria has an 11 month old son (HIV-) and is pregnant
again. She is 26 years old and is in a stable relationship with a HIV
negative partner. She reported being an ex-drug user (crack and
alcohol) and experiencing domestic violence, although she said her
partner did not hit her while she was pregnant. Maria's attitude
caused tension within the group she attended (there were complaints to
hat she sold the milk she received from the NGO). The NGO intended to
discontinue the service when she reported that she was pregnant again.
Her report contained the signifier "hunger" countless times. Maria was
triumphant to be pregnant again and laughingly stated that I'll have
as many children as I want. They can say what they want. |
