A different kind of risk?--pregnant women's experience of HIV testing in pregnancy

This paper describes some emerging themes developed from conversations with pregnant women participating in a pilot study in Ottawa and Montréal. These initial findings will inform a national study that will address the issue of HIV screening in pregnancy from the perspectives of the women themselves. Through an iterative series of conversations with each woman, the women in this pilot shared their experiences of being offered and of completing HIV testing during their pregnancy. The paper addresses the specific question of whether, in the context of promising new interventions to reduce perinatal transmission and rising levels of HIV infection among Canadian women of child-bearing age, the drive to screen as many pregnant women as possible has resulted in an abrogation of a woman's right to the established principles of HIV testing. Specifically, what is the evidence from the women in this pilot of adherence to the principles that testing for HIV should always be voluntary and should always be carried out only after the person has given their informed specific consent?