"Increasing Numbers of Young in U.S. Lose Their Mothers to AIDS"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Increasing Numbers of Young in U.S. Lose Their Mothers to AIDS"

Philadelphia Inquirer (12/23/92), P. A2
Collins, Huntly

Abstract: Approximately 18,500 American children have been left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic--and the figure is likely to exceed 80,000 by the year 2000 as more women contract HIV, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Authors David Michaels and Carol Levine said, "Unless increased attention and resources are devoted to this vulnerable population, a social catastrophe is unavoidable." They called the children "orphans" because their mothers were the primary caregivers. Most of the motherless young people, all under age 18, are not infected with HIV, but still will encounter problems, such as coping with the social stigma of AIDS at school and among friends, finding homes with loving caregivers after the mother dies, and receiving continued support from government-funded AIDS services, said the researchers. Although women make up 10 percent of AIDS cases in this country, their rate of infection is increasing, mostly because of IV-drug use. For example, in New Jersey, women constitute 27 percent of all AIDS cases. The majority of the affected young people are low-income black and Latino youths who live in the nation's largest cities, said the researchers. These children have often lost siblings to AIDS, added the researchers, and the social stigma of AIDS makes their situation worse than that of children who lose a parent to cancer or some other fatal illness. Related Stories: Washington Post (12/23) P. A2; Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (12/23) P. A7; Baltimore Sun (12/23) P. 3A

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