Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - October 14, 2000
Anjira Assavanonda
She is one of 577 pregnant women who took a short course of zidovudine, or AZT, in a Public Health Ministry pilot programme in the Northeast to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Ms Kaew found she had HIV when she was two-months pregnant. She believes the source was her husband, who dated many girls before he met her.
"He never had an HIV test, but I believe he knows what has happened to us," Ms Kaew said.
Ms Kaew's husband took care of her until the daughter was born. "Soon he got bored with me and began dating and having sex with other girls.
"I warned him to use condoms so he wouldn't infect others, but he didn't care," she said. "He said using condoms would spoil his mood and make his partners sceptical."A month after she gave birth, he left her for another woman and she has not heard from him since. Khanit Khaisaeng, or Phi Nit, is a counsellor for HIV-positive mothers at Warin Chamrab hospital, Ubon.
Ms Khanit said she had worked hard to support Ms Kaew, who became mentally frail after learning of her condition.
Ms Kaew said counselling had shown her that HIV was not the end of the world and she could still plan a life for herself and her child.
"Being HIV positive does not mean that I will be dying soon.
"My counsellor advises me how to take care of myself and my child," she said.
Ms Khanit said caring for HIV-positive mothers was most effective when women disclosed their HIV status to their husbands.
However, this depends on individual consent, and many women opt to keep it secret for fear their husband will abandon them. The pilot programme was launched in 1997-1998 with the support of the US Communicable Disease Control Centre and Unicef.
The regimen includes voluntary counselling and HIV testing for pregnant women, provision of anti-retroviral drugs for HIV-positive women during pregnancy and delivery, and follow-up care for mother and child.
Dr Siripon Kanshana, director of the Health Promotion Bureau, said short-course AZT cuts HIV transmission by 50% among non-breastfeeding mothers.
Pleased with the outcome of the pilot projects, the Public Health Ministry last year began perinatal HIV-prevention programmes in all regions.
The HIV-infection rate in newborn babies has dropped from 30-40% at one stage to 7.7% in the upper North, and 8.4% in the Northeast. Other target groups include fertile women, their husbands and partners.
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