Nutrition and HIV/AIDS: A Training Manual - Linkages Project

• Providing information on referral systems or refer her to psychosocialsupport to help her deal with disclosing her status and obtain generalsupport during pregnancy and after delivery.TASK 4: Ask students to role-play the following case study illustrating nutritionalcare and support of an HIV-positive lactating woman. One student should take therole of the lactating woman and another, the role of the nutritional counselor.Brenda, 25, comes to see you for the first time for counseling. She has a 2-month-oldbaby and tells you that she is breastfeeding. She has not had the courage to test forHIV, but her partner died 3 months earlier, and rumors suggest he died of AIDS.Brenda is living alone with her baby while on maternity leave. She tells you she isworried about how she will support herself and her baby on her small salary. Sheconfides that she is worried about her health and has not been able to eat well. Shefeels she has lost weight because her clothes fit loosely. She does not have anynausea or vomiting, but does have diarrhea and fever. She also complains aboutbeing tired. She is very concerned about her weight loss and her inability to eat.1. Identify and discuss nutritional care and support issues for Brenda.• Food security because of her low income• Support systems she has in place• Her pre-pregnancy weight, current weight and height, and calculation of herbody mass index (BMI)• Her knowledge of HIV and infant feeding, including her own nutrition• Her eating habits and dietary intake• Opportunistic infections that are causing fever• Medications or dietary supplements2. What interventions would you suggest to help Brenda?178