Financial and Food Insecurity are Primary Challenges to Breastfeeding for Women Living with HIV in Western Kenya: A Longitudinal Qualitative Investigation.

ABSTRACT: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and continued breastfeeding for 24 months or longer is recommended for all mothers world-wide, including women living with HIV (WLWH). Given evidence of suboptimal infant feeding and the need to understand context specific barriers, we explored experiences of perinatal WLWH in Kisumu, Kenya. We applied a longitudinal qualitative approach (4 in-depth interviews) with 30 women from pregnancy to 14-18 months postpartum. Cross-sectional profiling led to a narrative description of infant feeding across time. The majority of women breastfed exclusively for 6 months and weaned by 18 months. Severe financial and food insecurity were primary challenges as women worked through when/how to breastfeed or stop breastfeeding in the setting of multiple compe

SUBMITTER: Tuthill EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10577374 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature