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Motherhood in the context of maternal HIV infection
Author(s) -
Sandelowski Margarete,
Barroso Julie
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/nur.10109
Subject(s) - human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , context (archaeology) , qualitative research , social stigma , stigma (botany) , medicine , developmental psychology , psychology , psychiatry , immunology , sociology , biology , paleontology , social science
Abstract Metasummary and metasynthesis techniques were used to integrate findings pertaining to motherhood in 56 reports of qualitative studies conducted with HIV‐positive women. Motherhood in the context of maternal HIV infection entailed work directed toward the illness itself and the social consequences of having HIV infection in the service of two primary goals: the protection of children from HIV infection and HIV‐related stigma and the preservation of a positive maternal identity. Motherhood both intensified and mitigated the negative physical and social effects of HIV infection. HIV‐positive mothers engaged in a distinctive kind of maternal practice—virtual motherhood—to resist forces that disrupted their relationships with and ability to care for their children, as well as their identities as mothers. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Res Nurs Health 26:470–482, 2003