“Silent Voices”: A Description of Views and Attitudes of Health Professionals towards Reproduction by HIV Positive People

Objective . The role of health professionals in the decision making process of patients is usually heard or seen from the perspective of the patients. This paper gives the usually silent and invisible health professionals voice and visibility. It describes their views and attitudes towards reproduction by couples who are HIV positive and attempts to understand their perspectives. Methods . In-depth interviews were conducted with twelve health professionals at an opportunistic infections clinic. Transcribed interviews were analysed using the grounded approach to identify patterns and themes concerning views and attitudes of health professionals towards reproduction by HIV positive people. Results . The study found that most health professionals generally had a negative attitude towards childbearing by HIV positive couples. Their views and approaches on the issue were based mainly on biomedical considerations. The main discourses on childbearing that emerged from the study were the conditional choice, the antichildbearing, and the prorights. Conclusion . Most of the health professionals interviewed tend to take a generally negative stance towards reproduction by people with HIV/AIDS. There is a need for a clear set of guidelines for health professionals (HPs) on how to deal with HIV positive people who may desire to reproduce.