The Protective Influence of Maternal-Fetal Attachment on Health Behaviors Among Women living with HIV/AIDS

2013

Julieta Hernandez
[email protected]
305-243-6864

Background: After childbirth, HIV-infected pregnant women may experience increased vulnerability to child maltreatment, even when HIV transmission to the infant was prevented. Maternal-fetal attachment (MFA), the pre-birth emotional relationship with her fetus, is viewed here as the precursor to a mother?s caregiving and the beginning of the parent-child relationship. The strengths perspective in social work practice embeds MFA within a larger socio-ecological conceptual framework to propose that high levels of MFA may protect the mother-infant dyad against this vulnerability. Objective: To examine the relationships between levels of MFA and three maternal health behaviors (pregnancy care, pregnancy HIV medication adherence, and infant care adherence) among pregnant women with HIV/AIDS who seek prenatal care; and to assess whether MFA and other theoretically relevant variables (history of drug use, marital partnered status, planned pregnancy status, and HIV diagnosis before or during p

Conference presentations and posters presented

Consumers/Families, Professionals, Students

Electronic (disc, CD, 508 compliant web posting)

http://aia.berkeley.edu/a-closer-look-qa-with-strengthening-connections-workshop-presenter-julieta-hernandez/

N/A