The Impact of HIV Test Results on Subsequent Antenatal Care Attendance by Women in Rural Hospitals in Lesotho

Overview

Regular antenatal care visits beginning early in pregnancy promote safe motherhood, particularly for HIV-positive women. While many factors affecting antenatal clinic attendance have been documented, the aim of this study was to explore the impact of a positive or negative HIV test result at a woman’s first antenatal clinic visit on her subsequent clinic attendance, for which existing research was limited. Women’s antenatal clinic visit records in three rural hospitals in Lesotho were reviewed and information on the number of antenatal clinic visits, gestational age at first visit, HIV status, maternal age, CD4 count, and the receipt of ARV prophylaxis or ART for HIV-positive women was collected. Results were presented in a poster presentation at the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC 2012.