Vietnam Population and AIDS Indicator Survey 2005 ... - Measure DHS

4.5 KNOWLEDGE OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION
An HIV positive mother can potentially transmit HIV to her child during pregnancy, labor and
delivery, or while breastfeeding. Risk of mother to child transmission can be reduced through the use of
anti-retroviral therapy. Therefore, increasing the level of knowledge of transmission of the virus from
mother to child is critical to improving the health of HIV-infected mothers and reducing the risk of
transmission to their children.
All women and men interviewed in the VPAIS were asked if the virus that causes AIDS can be
transmitted from a mother to a child during pregnancy, during delivery, or during breastfeeding. Those
who reported they were aware of the risk of mother to child transmission were further asked if there are
any special medications that a doctor or nurse can give to a pregnant woman who is infected with the
AIDS virus to reduce the risk of transmission to the baby. Theoretically, knowledge that mother to child
transmission can be prevented will alter the woman’s care-seeking and breastfeeding behavior.
Knowledge of mother to child transmission varies greatly by transmission mode. Knowledge of
transmission during pregnancy and delivery is high among both women and men, while knowledge of
transmission through breastfeeding is less commonly known. Three-quarters of all respondents know that
HIV can be transmitted during delivery and 90 percent of respondents know that HIV can be transmitted
during pregnancy. While only 2 in 10 women and men know about anti-retroviral drugs to reduce the risk
of mother to child transmission, 21 percent of women and 18 percent of men know that there are special
drugs that a doctor or nurse can give to a pregnant woman infected with the AIDS virus to reduce the risk
of transmitting the virus to the baby. About four in ten women and men of reproductive age know that
HIV can be transmitted from a mother to her child by breastfeeding (43 percent of women and 39 percent
of men as shown in Table 4.4). Thus, the combined indicator shows that only about 15 percent of women
and men of reproductive age know both that HIV can be transmitted through breastfeeding and that the
risk of mother to child HIV transmission during pregnancy can be reduced with medication.
Women and men are about equally knowledgeable with regard to the risk of HIV transmission
through breastfeeding and the existence of ARVs for reducing mother to child transmission. Those least
likely to be aware of these aspects of transmission are women and men who have never attended school;
they are less than half as likely as people with some formal schooling to know of breastfeeding
transmission and ARVs.
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