Support or control? Qualitative interviews with Zambian women on male partner involvement in HIV care during and after pregnancy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Efforts to promote male partner involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) may inadvertently exploit gender power differentials to achieve programme targets.

Methods

We explored women's relative power and perceptions of male partner involvement through interviews with postpartum Zambian women living with HIV (n = 32) using a critical discourse analysis.

Results

Women living with HIV reported far-reaching gender power imbalances, including low participation in household decision-making, economic reliance on husbands, and oppressive gendered sexual norms, which hindered their autonomy and prevented optimal mental and physical health during and after their pregnancy. When the husband was HIV-negative, sero-discordance exacerbated wom

SUBMITTER: Hampanda KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7451516 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature