Shaping the Conversation: A Secondary Analysis of Reproductive Decision-Making Among Black Mothers with HIV

The purpose of this qualitative secondary data analysis is to examine the major influencers on mothers with HIV in their childbearing decisions, as well as how those influencers shape conversations with clinicians and health-care providers regarding HIV treatment and prevention. The original study gained insight into the reproductive decision-making of mothers with HIV. By analyzing a subsample of 15 interviews from an original cohort of 25 participants in the earlier study, three major themes were identified as follows: (1) family members, not health-care providers, influence reproductive decisions; (2) negative attitudes toward subsequent pregnancies are mainly due to HIV transmission; and (3) birth control decisions were predominately supported by family members, while health-care providers were not consulted.