In Uganda, Nurses Help Families Like Anita ' s Thrive

By Anna-Maija Mattila-Litvak, Supervisory development outreach and communications officer, USAID Anita Nakazibwe holds her daughter Emmanuela. While mom is HIV-positive, the toddler remains HIV-negative —a fact that brings Anita great joy. Photo by Anna-Maija Mattila-Litvak, USAID/Uganda.February 17, 2020“My first treatment was a smile!” says Anita Nakazibwe about the welcome she got when she first came to Moroto Regional Referral Hospital in eastern Uganda. Anita holds her year-and-a-half-old baby girl Emmanuela in her arms and is beaming. She gave birth at the hospital to a healthy baby, although she herself is HIV-positive.Several years earlier, however, life seemed to come to a stop for Anita.“It was in 2011 when I gave birth to my first child. After a year, I got pregnant again and miscarried, and the doctors were trying to find out the reason for it. They did an HIV test and it was positive. Telling my husband was really hard,” recalls Anita solemnly.“Fortunately, he has been so supportive and good to me,” she says of her husband, who is HIV-negative.“Then, when my first daughter got sick and tested HIV-positive, it was devastating,” she said. After a few years, Anita and her husband wanted to have another child, but Anita was afraid to get pregnant again.
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: HIV & AIDS Maternal, Newborn, Child Health Nurses Source Type: news