Specific needs of HIV infected women during the perinatal period: How do midwives in South Africa meet these challenges

Midwives in South Africa are central to providing competent and compassionate care to childbearing women, as the main healthcare providers from pregnancy through the postpartum period. The HIV/AIDS epidemic challenges midwives to redefine the scope of midwifery practice, as prevention, diagnosis and appropriate treatment enter the range of midwifery management. The presenter has worked with midwives in KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape on the complex issues faced by the midwifery profession: revision of curriculum to integrate HIV comprehensive care; midwifery management in the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum period; primary health issues for women with HIV; and task-shifting within the healthcare team to enable midwives a greater role in care, such as nurse-initiated ARV treatment. She will address the critical challenges that midwives encounter regarding HIV in the perinatal period.