KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF PREGNANT WOMEN TOWARDS PREVENTION OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV/AIDS IN EDO STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women towards prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS in Edo state University Teaching Hospital. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and respondents comprised of pregnant women attending Edo state University Teaching Hospital. The study made use of a self-designed questionnaire with closed-ended questions to collect data used for analysis in the study. Data generated for the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages. From the findings, majority of the respondents had heard of HIV/AIDS (90.7% and knew it to be a sexually transmitted disease (86.7%). Furthermore, 30 (40%) of the women had tested for HIV and 40 (53.3%) were aware that a mother can transmit HIV to her child. Furthermore, on the attitude of the women, 62 (82.7%) were of the opinion that the unborn child of an HIV/AIDS mother can be prevented from contacting HIV/AIDS, while 49 (65.3%) would advise HIV/AIDS woman to get pregnant. Lastly, the factors that influence the attitude of pregnant women towards prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS were shown to include stigma and discrimination 60(80%), male partner involvement 12(16%), quality of the service 10(13.3%), health workers approach 8(10.7%), and access to and availability of PMTCT services 30(40%). The study highlights the gaps in specific aspects of factors influencing the attitude of pregnant women towards prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS such as stigma and discrimination, male partner involvement,quality of the service, e.t.c that should be focused in future awareness and educational intervention campaigns; and recommends that health education/counseling component of the PMTCT programme should be strengthened to fill the revealed knowledge gaps.