Motherhood experiences of mothers living with HIV and the emerging patterns relating to their mother-child attachment relationships

Abstract

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains an epidemic in Southern Africa which disproportionately affects women in their reproductive year, many of which are or will become mothers. HIV is a communicable virus that compromises the immune system of those infected. Symptoms of the virus include fatigue, headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, depression and anxiety which may limit the functioning of those infected. Motherhood, which is known to be demanding, may be affected by these symptoms which result in impaired maternal care. This impairment may further impact the mother-child interactions, relationships and overall experience of motherhood. In South Africa, limited research exploring the role of HIV on motherhood exists. This study will address this gap and is an affiliated study of Spies (2015), using a portion of qualitative data previously collected. Spies (2015) investigated the role of HIV-related psychosis on motherhood and mother-child attachment relationships in South Africa. This study aims to explore the role of HIV in the experience of motherhood and the mother-child relationship. Secondly, it will aim to determine whether mothers with simililar mother-child attachment relationships have similar experiences. Forty-one semi-structured interviews were qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis and four themes were identified. It was found that the role of HIV in motherhood experiences and that motherhood is a maternal driver for MLWH. It was very clear from the data that unemployment and poverty significantly impede motherhood. Finally, the role of anti-retroviral treatment, self-care, and multiple types of support systems as crucial safeguard mechanisms for mothers living with HIV was also apparent. The themes that emanated from the participants with the same mother-child attachment relationships were compared to determine whether patterns of similarity could be identified. When comparing the experiences of mothers with the same mother-child attachment relationships, no significant patterns of similarity was found. This lack of similarity in the experiences of motherhood may suggest that mother-child attachment relationships poorly propose how motherhood could be experienced. This study contributed to the understanding of motherhood in a South African context.