AIDS

Perinatal AIDS

AIDS is the major public health concern today. The short-term history of the disease adds considerable emphasis to the problem in that it has literally exploded in a few years. The pathophysiology and natural history and, what is most important, the treatment, remain enigmatic. Management of women at risk of HIV infection is colored by the nature of the illness, the subgroups of the people first infected, the mode of transmission, and the implication of vertical transmission.

HIV disease and pregnancy. Part 2. Antepartum and intrapartum care

The spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease among childbearing women presents a unique nursing challenge in the delivery of specialized antepartum and intrapartum care. The nurse must be competent in the delivery of psychosocial and physical care to these women, as well as assume a pivotal role as a member of the multidisciplinary health-care team. Aspects of care, from the diagnosis of pregnancy through delivery of the neonate, that are unique to women with HIV disease are described.

HIV disease and pregnancy. Part 3. Postpartum care of the HIV-positive woman and her newborn

For women with HIV infection, physical and psychosocial adaptation during the postpartum period is fraught with ambivalence. On the one hand, there is the joy of parenthood, but on the other, the burden of a chronic, terminal illness and the possibility of having an infected newborn. The nursing care of the HIV-positive woman and her newborn is discussed. Guidelines for hospital discharge teaching are included.