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Women with HIV feel 'under surveillance' during pregnancy and early motherhood
Roger Pebody, 2013-07-19 07:40:00
Women living with HIV are subject to questioning, monitoring and surveillance of their choices during pregnancy, childbirth and the early stages of motherhood, according to Canadian research presented to the 2nd International Conference for the Social Sciences and Humanities in HIV in Paris last week.
Women feel that they are not only under the gaze of medical professionals and child protection officials, but also friends and family, who may take a particular interest in women’s infant feeding choices.
It has long been argued that women are under particular pressure to conform to social norms during motherhood. Women receive a great deal of expert advice on prenatal screening, breastfeeding and child-rearing from health and social care professionals. The writer Sara Ruddick has said that “Mothers are policed by...the gaze of others...teachers, grandparents, mates, friends, employers, even an anonymous passerby can judge a mother.”
And while motherhood is a highly valued social role that women are often expected to fulfil, perceptions of HIV infection can disrupt this. Firstly, there may be a suspicion that women have acquired HIV through promiscuity or drug use, putting into question their ability to be a ‘good mother’. Secondly, mothers are not expected to expose their children to the risk of infection and illness.
In Canada, the monitoring of women with HIV takes on a particular character, given the country’s excessive use of the criminal law to punish non-disclosure of HIV status, exposure to HIV and transmission of HIV. Whilst most cases have concerned heterosexual contact, in 2006 a woman was convicted after her baby became HIV positive. During pregnancy, she had stopped taking antiretroviral medication and had avoided specialist services.
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